Carol Vorderman demands ‘AI slop’ featuring her likeness is taken down from X

Stephen Price

Welsh broadcaster Carol Vorderman has demanded that an AI version of her calling for a plumber to unblock a toilet blocked with likenesses of Angela Rayner and Zack Polanski is taken down from X.

The post which was published on 24 May is captioned: “Carol Vorderman has a blocked toilet and calls for a plumber to come and unblock it. The plumber is Reform UK’s Robert Kenyon who quickly identifies the cause of the issue, but it’s no easy task.”

The video posted by Crewkerne Gazette, features an exaggeratedly unflattering version of the veteran Welsh presenter, calling for a plumber – portrayed by an AI version of Reform’s Robert Kenyon – who later assists with unblocking a toilet after receiving a call from the AI version of Vorderman.

Soon, the plumber finds that it is blocked by Matthew Goodwin – a British conservative political commentator, right-wing political candidate, and former academic.

The AI video then goes on to show Zack Polanski and Angela Rayner also being pulled from the toilet basin.

Zack Polanski’s likeness says: “I demand to be put back in immediately – I have earned my place rightfully.”

Angel Rayner’s AI likeness adds: “For the many, not the poo”.

Carol Vorderman has a blocked toilet and calls for a plumber to come and unblock it. The plumber is Reform UK’s Robert Kenyon who quickly identifies the cause of the issue, but it’s no easy task.

{satire} pic.twitter.com/sccKOqbH4v

— Crewkerne Gazette (@CrewkerneGaz) May 24, 2026

After being made aware of the ‘offensive’ post, Vorderman wrote: “Take this down …. It’s not satire it’s AI slop and you’re using my image without permission . Pls let me know once this has been removed.”

In response, the account’s creator replied: “The video is plainly absurdist AI satire: a fictional toilet-unblocking sketch in which a plumber pulls out various political figures and archetypes. It is not presented as real, nor as an endorsement by you.

“You are a public figure active in political discourse, and the video forms part of our wider satirical commentary on British public life.

“We do not accept that we are obliged to remove it on the basis stated. However, any formal legal request can be sent to [email protected] and will be considered properly.”

The anonymous man behind the widely shared AI-generated music videos under the name Crewkerne Gazette was recently unmasked by Channel 4 News.

The anonymous man behind the widely shared AI-generated music videos under the name Crewkerne Gazette has been unmasked by Channel 4 News.

Joshua Bonehill-Paine is a notorious far-right figure who’s spent five years in jail for a series of hate crimes against Jewish people,… pic.twitter.com/kJyP4FkflL

— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) February 10, 2026

They shared: “Joshua Bonehill-Paine is a notorious far-right figure who’s spent five years in jail for a series of hate crimes against Jewish people, including inciting racial hatred and racially aggravated harassment against the Labour peer Baroness Berger.

“Bonehill-Paine posted a statement on his social media after our revelations denouncing anti-semitism and saying he had been “brainwashed” at the time.

“He said he regretted his past and the mistakes that he had made.”

In a later post shared on X, Joshua Bonehill-Paine wrote: “On the whole Carol Vorderman / Crewkerne Gazette matter:

“We strongly defend our right to freedom of speech, artistic expression and political satire. The video Mrs Vorderman has taken issue with is plainly a work of satire, and its main target is the absurd image of politicians being pulled from a toilet bowl, not any serious claim about Mrs Vorderman herself.

“The Crewkerne Gazette produces high-quality AI satire and is widely recognised for doing so. Any suggestion that this was presented as anything other than satire is entirely false. Mrs Vorderman has described the video as “not satire”, but we are a satirical publisher, our work is understood in that context, and the material was clearly framed as such.

“The comparison with Spitting Image is a fair one. We do not use puppets; we use AI-generated characters which resemble the public figures being portrayed, though not always perfectly or realistically. Our AI satire is marked as satire precisely because we are conscious of the risks around this technology. With AI comes responsibility, and we take that responsibility seriously.

“In the video in question, no false factual claims are made about Mrs Vorderman. There is no sexual or obscene imagery, and nothing we consider to have crossed the line. It is also important to stress that the video was not sent to Mrs Vorderman directly. It was published to our own audience, who understand and enjoy the Gazette’s satirical format.

“We would also advise, in the strongest possible terms, that nobody gives Mrs Vorderman any grief over her comments. We strongly condemn threats, harassment, abuse or menacing language of any kind, and we ask people not to target her.

“It should also be noted that, following Mrs Vorderman’s public response, I have personally received threats and menacing messages from left-wing accounts associated with pro-Palestine politics. That is unacceptable too.

“Political satire is part of a free society. People are entitled to dislike it, criticise it or find it unfunny, but that does not make it unlawful, malicious or anything other than satire.”

“Cowardly”

Earlier this week, Vorderman demanded an apology from a “cowardly” Reform UK candidate in the Makerfield by-election who supported an offensive post about her, according to reports.

Robert Kenyon, who is standing against Labour’s Andy Burnham in the June 18 contest, used a now-deleted X account to support an offensive post about the Welsh broadcaster.

Messages published by campaign group Hope Not Hate showed that Mr Kenyon responded on Christmas Eve 2021 to another person’s post including graphic sexual language about the presenter, who made her name as the maths expert on Channel 4’s Countdown.

Alongside a thumbs up and a laughing emoji, the plumber wrote: “He’s only saying what we’re all thinking.”

Vorderman told The Mirror on Monday evening: “I want an apology from Rob Kenyon, to me, and to all the other people he’s abused online.”

She added: “I’m 65, I grew up in North Wales in abject poverty, I spent half of my life living in the North, whether it was Leeds, or Manchester, or that strip of North Wales.”

Earlier that day, Reform UK MP Danny Kruger described Mr Kenyon’s social media posts as “inappropriate”, but sought to defend the “private” comments of “an ordinary man”.

Asked about the message, Mr Kruger told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “The great challenge for social media for private people is that they use it as if they are chatting to their friends in the park.

“Clearly an inappropriate thing to say publicly.

“I’m not going to judge people for their what are essentially regarded at the time and intended as private conversations.”

Vorderman went on to tell the Mirror that Mr Kruger “says Kenyon is just an ordinary man saying ordinary things.

“No, I’m sorry, Kenyon isn’t an ordinary man. He’s a cowardly man which is why he deleted one of his social media accounts.”

She added: “They are public comments on a public platform and if Danny Kruger thinks online abuse is OK then Reform are therefore stating online abuse against women is OK, then all women in Makerfield need to know that.”