Three UK Uses AI to Bring Back 1920s Football Legend for Groundbreaking Interview

As part of the Three’s #WeSeeYou Network, an initiative in partnership with Chelsea FC Women that recognises and champions women in football, Three has recreated Lily Parr, arguably one of England’s greatest players – estimated to have scored more than 960 goals in her career, which is more than Cristiano Ronaldo. By bringing her to the present day via AI technology for a never-before-seen inspirational conversation with former Chelea FC Women player turned TV presenter, Karen Carney, Three hopes to inspire the next generation of ‘Lily’s.

The three-minute interview, launched through PR and social media on International Women’s Day, shines a light on one of Britain’s most talented but forgotten footballing heroes.

The campaign was developed by Generation - Three’s in-house agency – working closely with Mischief PR and Three’s in-house PR, social and sponsorship teams.

Aislinn O’Connor, marketing director at Three UK & Ireland said, “At Three, we are honoured to bring Lily Parr’s story to life using the very latest AI technology. By paying homage to the enormous legacy Lily has given us and laying foundations for so many sportswomen, we hope today’s launch inspires the next generation of female talent. Her message is as true today as it was then – we need more action to support women of all ages in sport. Through our partnership with Chelsea FC Women, Three’s #WeSeeYou Network is now in its third season and continues to grow, champion and provide opportunities for the all-too-often hidden women and the beautiful game.”

Speaking about her involvement in the campaign, Karen Carney said, “For many years women's football faced challenges to be seen and celebrated, which would have given so many incredible players the opportunity to play and help grow the game. Legends like Lily Parr paved the way, and working with Three and the #WeSeeYou Network to bring her story to life has been an incredible experience. I was proud to be a part of this campaign, and I hope it inspires future generations to keep pushing forward.”

The project demonstrates how AI technology can be used as a force for good - enhancing, rather than replacing, the human craft behind storytelling. The recreation of Lily Parr focussed on unlocking a story that would have otherwise remained untold. By combining AI technology with expert historical research, performance capture and digital artistry - to bring Lily’s legacy to life in an authentic and powerful way.

How Three reimagined Lily Parr

Women’s football historian and Professor of Sport at the University of Wolverhampton, Jean Williams, was first brought in to work with Three on the recreation of Lily Parr. By feeding the technology a series of archival information from Lily Parr and those who knew her, she helped to inform the personality and character of the AI responses.

The AI-powered version of Lily Parr was then brought to life using advanced digital motion technology combined with archival material and personal accounts to share her remarkable story with new audiences, with the help of the team at Territory Studios.

The process began with restoring archival photos and footage of Lily to reveal her facial features in high resolution, bringing her likeness back into vivid detail. Multiple layers of advanced AI techniques were then applied to reconstruct her unique features into a high-resolution, colourised portrait. Where AI was unable to maintain authenticity or achieve the desired composition, traditional digital artistry was employed to refine and finalize the image, with careful detailing and finishing touches.

To achieve the final result, Three partnered with an actor, whose performance helped capture Lily’s essence and enhance her digital recreation. This collaboration was paired with sophisticated AI networks, including facial landmark detection, and 3D mapping. The seamless integration of these technologies enabled an ultra-realistic face-swap.

Greg Farrington, senior creative, generation at Three said, “Taking ‘We See You’ literally, we set out to recreate Lily as authentically as possible - her appearance, her stories, her voice. To bring this vision to life, we partnered with Territory Studio, who meticulously reconstructed her likeness using archival imagery and pioneering AI. For the script, we developed a custom Lily GPT, co-created and fact-checked by football historian Jean Williams. To ensure her personality and accent felt genuine, we collaborated with a method actor, as well as a voice and body language coach. And who better to share this 1920s legend’s story - than 2020s icon and women's football champion Karen Carney.”

Dorian Thomas, ECD at Territory Studio said about the technical development, “As a creatively driven design studio, Territory embrace AI as a powerful tool that enhances our artistic process. This project was particularly unique, requiring us to carefully select the right tools while also understanding AI’s limitations and determining where traditional skills were still essential. One of our biggest challenges was that this couldn’t be executed as a straightforward digital face replacement (DFR) using deepfake technology - we simply didn’t have the necessary data. To overcome this, we had to take a single image and process it to meet modern standards. This image was then fed through our bespoke AI model to generate a viable DFR. Initially, we faced several constraints from a live-action perspective, but as we refined our model, many of these limitations disappeared, allowing the director and actress greater freedom in their performance.”

Ben Walker, executive creative director, generation at Three said, "AI is often framed as a threat to creativity, but this project shows its real strength lies in expanding what’s possible. Without it, Lily Parr’s story - her likeness, her presence, her impact - would have remained firmly in the past. By blending advanced technology with deep human craft, historical research, and performance capture, we’ve been able to bring her back to share her own legacy. This wasn’t about cutting creatives and their skillsets out of the process; it was about giving them the tools to do something that’s never been done before. AI became the bridge between history and today, helping us honour Lily Parr in the most authentic way possible."