
Britain’s Got Talent star Francine Lewis has said she was nervous at first about playing Kim Kardashian in Deep Fake Neighbor Wars, but she quickly got over her nerves.
The trippy new ITVX series employs cutting-edge AI technology to transform the finest impressionists in the UK into global superstars, and one of the stars is the impressionist who made it to the finals of Britain’s Got Talent in 2013.
In this alternate reality, however, famous actors and actresses have to supplement their income by working as substitute teachers, mail carriers, and even a dental hygienist.
Francine takes the role of Kim Kardashian, a bus driver in Catford.
Greta Thunberg, a prominent climate change campaigner, is now a teen mom and resident in Southend-on-Sea.
And they’ve all gotten themselves into heated, ridiculous, and perplexing conflicts with their neighbours.
While the usage of deep fakes has been met with criticism in other contexts, Francine isn’t too concerned about the situation at hand.
‘I did have those [moral, ethical and legal] questions when I signed up but if anyone gets sued, it’s not me,’ she said.
‘I’m not worrying about it, but I did ask those questions because I was wondering if we could get away with that.
‘If you are saying things you shouldn’t be saying and you are giving the impression that you are that person you can get into trouble for it, but they [ITV and the show’s production company Tiger Aspect] are big enough and must have all the legal requirements in place.’
There will also be a disclaimer in each episode to remind people what they’re seeing is a result of some smoke and mirrors.
‘I think most people would know [it isn’t the celebrity], but there might be the odd person who is a bit confused,’ she said.
‘If you were turning on your TV and saw them, you wouldn’t query it at first and would be wondering what they are doing so I do think important to have that disclaimer.’

Each elaborate ruse is eventually exposed at the conclusion of the six episodes.
‘That was funny actually because we have to wiggle our heads and become ourselves and I remember thinking I had the short straw because I am turning from Kim into myself,’ Francine joked.
Francine, who is still trying to process the “unbelievable” technology, was “blown away” when she saw herself on the big screen for the first time last week.
‘I can’t believe that I am that person on the screen. It was crazy,’ she said.
Francine is confident that the initiative, which she claims to be a world first, will captivate audiences.
‘I think this show is going to be a major success because it is something that has never been done before,’ she said.
‘Also the script is hilarious and the situations they’ve put these celebrities in are so funny.
‘I think people are going to love it.’
The show features impressionists and comedians such as Katia Kvinge, Al Foran, Scheiffer Bates, Carmen Green, Aurie Styla, Luke Kempner, Tony Lapidus, and Yiannis Vassilakis, and was written by a team that included two of this year’s Edinburgh Comedy Award candidates, Jordan Gray and Josh Pugh.
Deep Fake Neighbour Wars is streaming on ITVX.