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Contributor Privacy Notice

Last Updated 16 July 2026

1. Scope

Like most businesses, we hold and process a wide range of information, some of which relates to individuals who are approached, researched, considered, interviewed, filmed, recorded or otherwise engaged in connection with our productions, whether or not they ultimately appear in a programme. This Privacy Notice explains the type of information we process, why we are processing it and how that processing may affect you.

The notice applies to individuals who take part, or may take part, in our productions, individuals who provide information or material during the research and production process, and those who have previously taken part in our productions. It may also apply, where relevant, to representatives, family members, support persons and other individuals referred to in contribution or production material.

This Privacy Notice is set out in this document (the Core Notice) and the Supplementary Information in the Annex to this document. In the Supplementary Information, we explain what we mean by “personal data”, “processing”, “sensitive category data” and other terms used in the notice.

Please note that, since our productions vary, we may provide additional privacy information about a particular production or activity. Any additional information should be read together with this Privacy Notice.

2. Personal data - what we hold and why we process it

We process data for the purposes of our business, including for researching, developing, producing, broadcasting, distributing, archiving and marketing our productions, managing our relationships with contributors and, where appropriate, supporting contributor welfare and safeguarding. Depending on the nature of a production and your involvement in it, we may process particularly sensitive information, including information about your physical or mental health, disability, racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, sex life or sexual orientation. Data protection law refers to this as “special category personal data”.

We may also process information concerning alleged or actual criminal conduct, legal proceedings, abuse, violence, safeguarding concerns or other highly sensitive personal experiences. Information concerning criminal allegations, offences and convictions is subject to separate legal protections.

The Supplementary Information provides more specific information on these purposes, on the type of data that may be processed and on the grounds on which we process data. See Legal grounds for processing personal data and Further information on the data we process and our purposes.

3. Where the data comes from and who gets to see it

Some of the personal data that we process comes directly from you, including information you provide through correspondence, research conversations, interviews, filming, recordings, welfare discussions and your contribution to a production.

We may also obtain personal data about you from other sources, including your representative or support person, other contributors, members of the public, publicly available sources, archives, social media, public records, researchers, journalists, professional advisers and organisations relevant to the subject matter of a production.

 Your personal data may be seen internally by relevant people working on or supporting the production. Depending on the circumstances, we may also share your data outside the organisation, for example with broadcasters, commissioners, production partners, post-production providers, professional advisers, welfare professionals and other service providers. Further information on this is provided in the Supplementary Information. See Where the data comes from and Who gets to see your data?

4. How long do we keep personal data

We do not keep your personal data for any specific period but will not keep it for longer than is necessary for our purposes. In general, we will keep your personal data for so long as you take part in a production and for a period afterwards. See Retaining your personal data – more information in the Supplementary Information.

5. Transfers of Personal Data outside the UK or EEA

We may transfer your personal data outside the UK or EEA to members of our group and processors in the US or, on rarer occasions, other jurisdictions in which we are established. If you featured in a production, the data constituting your performance may be transferred out of the UK or EEA for distribution and marketing purposes.

Further information on these transfers and the measures taken to safeguard your data are set out in the Supplementary Information under Transfers of personal data outside the UK or EEA – more information.

6. Your data rights

You have a right to make a subject access request to receive information about the data that we process about you. Further information on this and on other rights is in the Supplementary Information under Access to your personal data and other rights. We also explain how to make a complaint about our processing of your data.

7. Contact details

In processing your personal data, we act as a data controller. Our contact details are as follows: datacontroller@liontv.co.uk.

8. Status of this notice

This notice does not form part of your contract and does not create contractual rights or obligations. It may be amended by us at any time.

Supplementary information

1. What is “personal data” and “processing”

“personal data” is information relating to you (or from which you may be identified) which is processed by automatic means or which is (or is intended to be) part of a structured manual filing system.  It includes not only facts about you, but also intentions and opinions about you.  Data “processed automatically” includes information held on, or relating to use of, a computer, laptop, mobile phone or similar device.  It covers data derived from equipment such as access passes within a building, data on use of vehicles and sound and image data such as CCTV. It also covers video, audio and images captured as part of a production. “processing” means doing anything with the data, for example, it includes collecting it, holding it, disclosing it and deleting it.

Certain types of personal data are subject to additional protection under data protection law and are referred to as “special category data”. This includes personal data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs or trade union membership, genetic data, biometric data used for identification, data concerning physical or mental health, or data concerning a person’s sex life or sexual orientation.

Personal data relating to criminal allegations, investigations, proceedings, offences or convictions is not special category data, but is subject to separate legal protections.

References in the privacy notice for prospective Cast, Crew and Talent to work or services (and similar expressions) include any arrangement we may have under which an individual provides us services in relation to a production. We use the word “you” to refer to anyone within the scope of the notice.

2. Legal grounds for processing personal data

Under data protection law, there are various grounds on which we can rely when processing your personal data.  In some contexts more than one ground applies.  We have summarised these grounds as Contract, Legal obligation, Legitimate Interests and Consent and outline what those terms mean in the following table.

Term: Contract

Ground for processing: Processing necessary for performance of a contract with you or to take steps at your request to enter a contract

Explanation: This covers carrying out our contractual duties and exercising our contractual rights.

Term: Legal obligation

Ground for processing: Processing necessary to comply with our legal obligations

Explanation: Ensuring we perform our legal and regulatory obligations.  For example, providing a safe place of work and avoiding unlawful discrimination.

Term: Legitimate Interests

Ground for processing: Processing necessary for our or a third party’s legitimate interests

Explanation: We or a third party may have legitimate interests in researching, developing, producing, editing, legally and editorially reviewing, broadcasting, distributing, promoting and archiving productions; exercising freedom of expression and information; managing contributor relationships and welfare; protecting individuals, production material and systems; and administering our business. We will not rely on this basis where our or a third party’s interests are overridden by your own interests, rights and freedoms.

Term: Consent

Ground for processing: You have given specific consent to processing your data

Explanation:  Where we rely on consent, we will ask you to agree to a specific use of your personal data and explain how you may withdraw that consent. Your editorial or contractual agreement to take part in a production is not necessarily the same as consent for the purposes of data protection law.

3. Processing special category data and criminal offence data

 

Depending on the nature of a production and your involvement in it, we may process special category personal data, including information concerning:

·       physical or mental health, disability and support needs;

·       racial or ethnic origin;

·       political opinions;

·       religious or philosophical beliefs;

·       trade union membership;

·       sex life or sexual orientation;

·       genetic information; or

·       biometric information used to identify an individual.

 

We may also process criminal offence data and other highly sensitive information, including information concerning alleged or actual unlawful conduct, legal proceedings, abuse, violence, safeguarding concerns or traumatic personal experiences.

Where Article 9 of the UK GDPR applies, we will identify an appropriate condition for processing special category data unless a relevant statutory exemption applies. The applicable condition will depend on the purpose and circumstances of the processing.

For example, we may:

  • Rely on explicit consent where we request it for a specific purpose;
  • Process information where necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims;
  • Process information for health, welfare or support-related purposes where the applicable legal requirements are met; or
  • Rely on another condition available under the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018.

 Where we process criminal offence data, we will ensure that the processing is authorised under the Data Protection Act 2018 or another applicable legal provision.

 Different legal grounds may apply to information processed for contributor welfare and support and information processed for journalistic and editorial purposes.

4. Further information on the data we process and purposes

The Core Notice outlines the purposes for which we process your personal data.  More specific information on these, examples of the data and the grounds on which we process data are in the table below. The examples in the table cannot, of course, be exhaustive.  For example, although the table does not mention data relating to criminal offences, if we were to find out that someone working for us was suspected of committing a criminal offence, we might process that information if relevant for our purposes.  We may also require criminal background checks for certain roles – for example those working with minors.

Purpose: Engagement

Examples of personal data that may be processed: Information concerning your application to work on our productions and our assessment of it, your references, any checks we may make to verify information provided or background checks and any information connected with your right to work.  If relevant, we may also process information concerning your health, any disability and in connection with any adjustments to working arrangements.

Grounds for processing: Contract Legal obligation Legitimate interests

Purpose: Your contract including entering it, performing it and changing it

Examples of personal data that may be processed: Information on your terms of engagement from time to time including your role, the duration of your contract and your remuneration.

Grounds for processing: Contract Legal obligation Legitimate interests

Purpose: Contacting  you or others on your behalf

Examples of personal data that may be processed: Your address and phone number, emergency contact information and information on your next of kin.

Grounds for processing: Contract Legitimate interests

Purpose: Payroll administration

Examples of personal data that may be processed: Information on your bank account, pension contributions and on tax and national insurance (if applicable). Information on attendance and absences.

Grounds for processing: Contract Legal obligation Legitimate interests

Purpose: Financial planning and budgeting

Examples of personal data that may be processed: Information relating to your remuneration.

Grounds for processing: Legitimate interests

Purpose:  Researching, creating, producing, legally and editorially reviewing, broadcasting, distributing, promoting and archiving a production

Examples of personal data that may be processed: Information connected with your proposed or actual contribution, including (if applicable) correspondence, research notes, photographs, video and audio recordings, rushes, transcripts, editorial assessments, information obtained from public or third-party sources and information concerning individuals, events or allegations. If you have an on-screen or voiceover role this will likely involve processing images / video / audio of you. Information relating to your compliance with our policies. Depending on the production, the material may include special category data or criminal offence data.

Grounds for processing: Contract Legal obligation Legitimate interests Consent (where specifically requested) Purpose: Changing or ending your working arrangements

Examples of personal data that may be processed: CCTV images. Records of use of swipe and similar entry cards. Records of your use of our systems including computers, phones and other devices and passwords (if applicable).

Grounds for processing: Legal obligation Legitimate interests

Purpose: Providing references in connection with your  seeking new work on other productions

Examples of personal data that may be processed: Information on your working for us and on your performance.

Grounds for processing: Consent Legitimate interests

Purpose: Providing information to third parties in connection with transactions that we contemplate or carry out

Examples of personal data that may be processed: Information on your contract and remuneration in relation to a given production may be required by a party to a transaction such as a prospective outsourcer.

Grounds for processing: Legitimate interests

Purpose: Monitoring of diversity and equal opportunities

Examples of personal data that may be processed: Information on your nationality, racial and ethnic origin, gender, sexual orientation, religion, disability and age as part of diversity monitoring initiatives. Such data will be aggregated and used for equality of opportunity monitoring purposes. Please note we may share aggregated and anonymised diversity statistics with regulators if formally required / requested.

Grounds for processing: Legitimate interests

Purpose: Monitoring and investigating compliance with policies and rules – both generally and specifically

Examples of personal data that may be processed: We expect our persons whom we engage to comply with our policies and rules and may monitor our systems to check compliance (.e.g. rules on accessing pornography in work or on set).  We may also have specific concerns about compliance and check system and other data to look into those concerns (e.g. log in records, records of usage and emails and documents, CCTV images).

Grounds for processing: Legitimate interests

Purpose: Disputes and legal proceedings

Examples of personal data that may be processed: Any information relevant or potentially relevant to a dispute or legal proceeding affecting us.

Grounds for processing: Legitimate interests Legal obligation

Purpose: Day to day business operations including marketing and travel on our behalf

Examples of personal data that may be processed: Information relating to the work you do for us and your role on a production. This may include a picture or profile of you. Information regarding your travel arrangements and location.

Grounds for processing: Legitimate interests

Purpose: Maintaining appropriate business records during and after your contract with us ends

Examples of personal data that may be processed: Information relating to your contract and anything you do whilst engaged by us.

Grounds for processing: Contract Legal obligation Legitimate interests

 

Purpose:  Researching and developing proposed productions; identifying and approaching potential contributors; understanding possible stories, experiences and subject matter; and assessing whether and how information or material may be relevant to a production.

Examples of personal data that may be processed:  Contact details; correspondence; research notes; information provided during preliminary discussions; information obtained from public sources or third parties; biographical information; information about experiences, opinions, relationships, allegations or events; and recordings or transcripts of research conversations. Depending on the production, this may include special category or criminal offence data.

Grounds for processing:  Legitimate interests Consent (where specifically requested)

Purpose:  Assessing and supporting contributor welfare, safety, accessibility and suitability to participate; identifying and managing risks connected with participation or transmission; arranging adjustments, specialist assessments, support or aftercare; and managing safeguarding concerns.

Examples of personal data that may be processed:  Physical or mental health information; disability and accessibility information; support needs; vulnerability or safeguarding information; welfare assessments; details of support provided or proposed; and communications with psychologists, counsellors or other welfare professionals.

Grounds for processing:  Legitimate interests Legal Obligation Consent (where specifically requested)

Where special category personal data is involved, an appropriate Article 9 condition will also be identified unless a relevant statutory exemption applies

Journalistic processing

Some of our productions involve journalism and the exercise of freedom of expression and information.

Where we process personal data for journalistic purposes with a view to publication, certain provisions of data protection law may not apply if we reasonably believe that publication would be in the public interest and that complying with the particular provision would be incompatible with the journalistic purpose. This is referred to as the journalism exemption.

We consider whether the exemption applies in the circumstances of the relevant production and in relation to the particular data protection requirement concerned. It does not apply automatically to all processing connected with a production.

In considering the public interest, we take account of the special importance of freedom of expression and information and any relevant broadcasting, editorial or professional codes and standards.

The journalism exemption does not remove our accountability obligations or our responsibility to maintain appropriate security for personal data.

5. Where data comes from

When you start working on one of our productions, the initial data about you that we process is likely to come from you:  for example, contact details, bank details and information on your immigration status and whether you can lawfully work.  We may also require references and information to carry out background checks (see above). In the course of your engagement, we may receive personal data relating to you from others.  For example, personal data may be derived from managers and employees of ours (for example those involved in the production you are working on) or our IT systems.

In connection with research and factual or investigative productions, we may also obtain personal data from representatives, family members, support persons, other contributors, witnesses, researchers, journalists, professional advisers, public records, court or regulatory material, archives, published reports, websites, social media and other publicly available sources.

We may receive information about you from another person without first contacting you, particularly during research or investigative journalism. Where required, we will provide appropriate privacy information unless an exemption applies.

6. Who gets to see your data?

Internal use: Your personal data may be disclosed to our employees working on your production, as well as to our managers and administrators for production, broadcasting, distribution, marketing, administrative and management purposes as mentioned in this document.  We may also disclose this to other members of our group. 

External use: We will only disclose your personal data outside the group where the disclosure is lawful, fair and consistent with the purposes and legal grounds described in this Privacy Notice. This includes disclosures necessary for our legitimate interests or those of a third party,  where those interests are not overridden by your interests ,rights and freedoms; disclosures made with your consent where we rely on consent;  disclosures required by law; and disclosures connected with legal, criminal or regulatory investigations.

Specific circumstances in which your personal data may be disclosed include:

  • Disclosure to broadcasters, commissioners, production partners, distributors and other organisations involved in the production, review, broadcast, distribution or promotion of a programme;
  • Disclosure to service providers that support our productions or business operations, including providers of production, post-production, IT, storage, communications, transcription and security services;

 

  • Disclosure to professional advisers, insurers and other specialist providers where necessary for legal, compliance, financial, welfare, safeguarding or support purposes;
  • Disclosure to public authorities, regulators, courts or law-enforcement bodies where required or otherwise permitted by law;
  • Disclosure on a confidential basis to a potential buyer, investor or other party in connection with a proposed corporate transaction;
  • Disclosure of aggregated or anonymised diversity information to relevant organisations or regulators; and
  • Disclosure of your contribution, image, voice, name, credit or other relevant personal data as part of the production, broadcast, distribution or promotion of a programme.

 

7. Retaining your personal data - more information

Although there is no specific period for which we will keep your personal data, we will not keep it for longer than is necessary for our purposes.  In general, we will keep your personal data for the duration of your contract and for a period afterwards.  In considering how long to keep it, we will take into account its relevance to our business and your engagement either as a record or in the event of a legal claim. If your data is only useful for a short period (for example, CCTV or a record of a holiday request), we may delete it. Personal data relating to job applicants (other than the person who is successful) will normally be deleted within 24 months. Some data, such as production footage itself and credit information, will be kept indefinitely as we have an ongoing legitimate interest in retaining the product.

Different retention periods may apply to different categories of information. Completed programmes, selected production material and records evidencing rights, permissions and editorial or legal decisions may be retained for long periods or indefinitely.

Unused research material, routine correspondence and health, welfare or safeguarding information will not necessarily be retained for the same period as the completed production. We will take account of the continuing need for the information, its sensitivity, any welfare or safeguarding considerations and applicable legal, regulatory, editorial and archival requirements.

8. Transfers of personal data outside of the UK or EEA - more information

In connection with our business and for production, broadcasting, distribution, administrative, management, marketing and legal purposes, we may transfer your personal data outside the UK or EEA to members of our group and data processors in other jurisdictions in which we are established. Some of our systems are hosted in the US.  We will ensure that any transfer is lawful and that there are appropriate security arrangements.

9. Access to your personal data and other rights

We try to be as open as we reasonably can about personal data that we process.  If you would like specific information, please contact us.

 You have the right to request confirmation of whether we process your personal data and, where we do, to request access to that data and certain related information, including the purposes for which it is processed and the categories of recipients to whom it has been or may be disclosed.

If you make a request and there is any question about your identity, we may ask you to provide information reasonably necessary to confirm who you are.

Depending on the circumstances, you may also have the right to:

  • Ask us to correct inaccurate personal data or complete incomplete personal data;
  • Ask us to erase your personal data;
  • Ask us to restrict the processing of your personal data;
  • Object to the processing of your personal data, including processing based on legitimate interests; and
  • Receive personal data that you have provided to us in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format and transmit it to another controller.

 The right to data portability applies only where the processing is based on consent or contract, is carried out by automated means and concerns personal data that you have provided to us.

You may also have rights in relation to decisions based solely on automated processing, including profiling, which produce legal effects concerning you or similarly significantly affect you.

Where we rely on consent or explicit consent for a particular activity, you may withdraw that consent at any time by contacting us. Withdrawal will not affect processing already carried out lawfully before withdrawal.

Withdrawing data protection consent does not automatically withdraw your editorial or contractual agreement to participate in a production or revoke rights granted under a contributor agreement. It will not necessarily prevent further processing where another lawful basis or statutory exemption applies.

These rights are subject to conditions and exemptions and do not apply in every case. In particular, where personal data is processed for journalistic purposes with a view to publication, the journalism exemption may restrict the extent to which we are required to provide information or comply with a particular request. We will consider whether an exemption applies in the circumstances and will not treat it as applying automatically.

10. Complaints

If you have complaints relating to our handling of your personal data, please file this complaint with our Head of Legal and Business Affairs. You can do this by writing to them at Coach House, 8 Alfred Mews, Fitzrovia, London, W1T 7AA or by email to LionLegal@liontv.co.uk, marking your email `Data complaint for the attention of the Head of Business Affairs’.  We will acknowledge your complaint promptly and will take steps to investigate it fairly and free of charge and inform you of the outcome as soon as reasonably practicable.. If our response does not resolve your concerns or you would prefer to raise it directly with the Information Commissioner’s Office, you can find details about how to do this on the ICO website at https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/data-complaints-complaints/ or by calling their office on 0303 123 1113.  The ICO may direct you back to us as an initial action before investigating further.

11. Status of this notice

This notice is for information purposes only and does not mean or imply that you will be chosen to work on one of our productions.