Applicant/Contributor Privacy Notice
PRIVACY NOTICE
HOW YOUR PERSONAL DATA WILL BE USED
This Privacy Notice is for anyone who participates in TV programmes, content and/or development projects produced by either STV Studios Limited or its subsidiaries and/or production partners/labels (“we”, “us”, “our”). You can find details of our production partners/labels on our website here or as otherwise notified to you.
This policy was last updated in July 2026.
The Data Controller of your personal data is STV Studios Limited or the named production responsible for the relevant programme or development project you are involved in.
We comply with the UK General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and UK privacy laws. This Privacy Notice sets out how we process and handle your personal data in relation to the production and development of TV programmes.
What type of personal data do we collect?
• Name and Contact Details: e.g. name, address, telephone/mobile number, email address
• Biographical Data: e.g. date of birth, gender, nationality
• Audiovisual Data: e.g. image, photograph, voice recording, video recording, filmed performances
• Professional and Background Data: e.g. CV, employment history, qualifications, experience and general information about you
• Special Category Data: e.g. information about gender, racial group, health (incl. access requirements)
• Employment/Right to Work Data: e.g. job title, NI number, passport, tax information
• Financial Data: e.g. bank account details
• Criminal Offence Data: e.g. information about criminal activity, criminal proceedings, or absence of the same
• Lexis Nexis Data: e.g. name, address, date of birth
• Public Data: e.g. images, opinions and information contained in professional profiles, talent and agency websites, industry databases, press articles and or other media sources
How we get your personal data, why we have it and how it will be used
It will depend on your individual circumstances. However, most of the personal data we process is provided to us directly by you, your agent or your employer. As applicable, we use personal data to:
• engage you in connection with a production or development project;
• assess your application, learn more about you and/or otherwise consider you as a programme or development project participant;
• ensure we have suitable and eligible participants (including talent, members of the public and production crew) for each of our programmes/development projects;
• administer contracts and make payments, where agreed, for your participation;
• manage production activities, including scheduling, communications and logistics;
• keep you informed and updated about the production or development project;
• where you have given us your permission, use your personal data to contact you about future series and programmes for which you may be interested in applying/participating;
• ensure we include a diverse range of applicants in our programmes to represent society and our viewing audience,
• support and monitor the effect and impact of equality, diversity and inclusion initiatives and assess what other initiatives may be required;
• research development projects and programmes, for which we may also engage experts and other consultants for further relevant information;
• comply with our duty of care, health and safety and/or safeguarding obligations (including talent, production crew, other participants, ourselves, and our partners) and our legal, regulatory and insurance obligations which includes carrying out background, medical, right to work and other screening checks and tax reporting;
• enable filming at relevant locations (including private property where applicable) for the purpose of the programme or development project;
• create, produce, edit, distribute and otherwise exploit the programme and/or development project (including your performances and contributions); and
• promote, publicise and/or seek interest in the programme and/or development project.
To the extent applicable to your engagement, we will seek personal data about you from the following sources to supplement and/or verify the information you have provided:
• Background check providers: e.g. Lexis Nexis, Disclosure Scotland/DBS (where required);
• Public sources: e.g. Google, other internet sources, social media platforms;
• Medical professionals and experts (where we are required to do so by law, or otherwise with your consent);
• Legal professionals and law enforcement (where necessary to do so);
• Family, friends, representatives, associates and anyone else who is responsible for your health and wellbeing; and
• Your employer / agent (where applicable).
In instances where your personal data has been collected through public filming (including interviews), this may be for the purpose of including it in development project materials such as taster tapes and development decks that are not intended to be used for broadcast. In such cases, your personal data will be reviewed regularly until we have a successful commission. We safely dispose of any personal data where it is no longer required. Where we do film in public, we put up filming notices around the areas being filmed with contact details so that you can let us know if you do not wish to be filmed.
We also use artificial intelligence (AI) tools and automated technologies to support certain aspects of our production and development processes. Where personal data is processed using AI tools, we will do so in accordance with applicable data protection laws and with appropriate technical and organisational safeguards in place.
We will not use personal data to train AI models, or process personal data using generative AI tools, unless we have your consent or another appropriate legal basis for doing so, and such use is consistent with any applicable industry, broadcaster and (as applicable) Guild guidelines.
SPECIAL CATEGORY DATA AND CRIMINAL OFFENCE DATA
When it is necessary for us to collect and process personal data which is Special Category Data and Criminal Offence Data (as further detailed in this Privacy Notice), we will inform you separately and provide you with more detailed information at the relevant time where it is necessary to do so.
Special Category Data includes information about your physical or mental health or condition, race, ethnic origin, political opinions, religion, trade union membership, genetics, or sexual orientation.
Criminal offence data includes information relating to actual or suspected criminal activity, allegations, investigations and proceedings, as well as information about unproven allegations, penalties, conditions or restrictions or other civil measures which must be adhered to.
We rely on the following lawful bases for processing your personal data:
• Contractual: Where processing is necessary for the performance of a contract to which you are party (e.g. contributor agreements, talent agreements, supplier agreements, location agreements etc.) or in order to take steps at your request prior to entering into the contract.
• Legal obligation: Where processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which we are subject (e.g. right to work checks, health and safety checks, child and vulnerable person protection, duty of care obligations, insurance requirements etc.).
• Your consent: Where we need to process sensitive data, such as Special Category Data or Criminal Offence Data (where not required to do so to comply with a legal obligation), or where we want to contact you for future productions or development projects, we will ask your permission to do so. For example, we will ask for your consent before we process any Special Category Data or undertake enquiries and/or basic criminal checks. You are able to withdraw your consent at any time. You can do this by contacting us using the contact details below.
• Legitimate Interests: Where the processing is necessary for our legitimate interests or a third party’s legitimate interests (e.g. broadcasters, commissioners, co-producers, distributors, financiers etc.) except where our interests are overridden by your interests or fundamental rights and freedoms. We have a legitimate interest to validate the information you provide to us to protect ourselves, other participants and viewers.
There are certain circumstances where an exemption for compliance with UK data protection laws applies to us, broadcasters and commissioners for the purposes of journalism, art and literature which is in the public interest.
Sharing your personal data
We share your personal data where we are legally obliged to do so. We also share personal data to comply with contractual purposes and/or where there is a compelling public interest reasoning for doing so.
We share personal data with: broadcasters, co-producers, verification organisations, regulatory and legal bodies, law enforcement, insurers, third party health practitioners, experts (including legal, medical and welfare professionals and advisory service providers), agents, representatives and employers, service providers supporting production operations and any other third parties connected to the relevant programme and/or development project such as distributors and financiers.
We also use data processors to provide the following services:
• Programme production management services (e.g. scheduling and day planning, cast, crew and similar databases);
• Records management services (e.g. document storage);
• Finance, accounting and payroll services;
• Support services (who help deliver duty of care, welfare, and safeguarding services);
• Screening services;
• Onboarding services;
• Background checking services;
• Post-production services (including GFX, VFX and clearance companies);
• Communication and transcription services (including audio/video recordings).
We also share your personal data internally within the STV Group of companies, subsidiaries and/or production partners/labels where it is necessary for programme or development project purposes.
Equality, Diversity and inclusivity initiatives (D&I)
STV engages in and participates in a number of D&I initiatives involving production crews and contributors. This involves the processing of Special Category Data. The processing of D&I information is essential to monitor and improve diversity and inclusion across the creative industry. Where requested to do so, we share D&I information in statistical form only, with no personally identifiable detail included (“anonymised data”). However, where there are limited numbers of individuals in a particular production or development project, there is the possibility that individuals may be indirectly identified. We share D&I information as follows:
• Project Diamond – the broadcast, production and creative industry diversity monitoring initiative. Diamond uses personal information regarding contributors to programmes to produce reports on the industry. The information is generally anonymised. STV will share your email address with the Creative Diversity Network, unless you have asked us not to. They will contact you directly to ask if you wish to contribute and provide Special Category Data. Your contribution is entirely voluntary.
• Ofcom – commissioning broadcasters must provide D&I statistics to Ofcom on an annual basis to comply with their regulatory obligations. Where we receive a commission from a broadcaster, we are required to share the information (in statistical format). Your contribution is entirely voluntary.
• Broadcaster/Commissioners/Funders – who are also committed to ensuring the projects they fund reflect society and ensure equality, diversity, and inclusion, seek anonymised information relating to D&I. Your contribution is entirely voluntary.
How we store your personal data and keep it secure
Your personal data is securely stored by us. We use data processors (detailed above) who also store your personal data on our behalf where necessary. Some of these data processors store your personal data in the UK. We also use processors outside the UK. Where your personal data is processed outside the UK, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place to keep your personal data secure. This includes using data processors in countries where we have assessed their suitability, including where there is a UK ‘adequacy decision’ e.g. EU countries, and other countries such as the US where we enter into contracts containing standard data protection clauses.
We are committed to keeping your personal data secure with appropriate technical and organisational measures which ensure its confidentiality, integrity and availability. This includes secure systems, operational policies and procedures to prevent your personal data from being accidentally lost, used, accessed, altered by, or disclosed to unauthorised persons (e.g. by using pseudonymisation, encryption, restricting access, and retention policies). Our contracts with data processors stipulate that they will only process your personal data on our instructions and that they will comply with confidentiality obligations.
Personal data will only be retained (i) for as long as it is necessary to keep it for the purposes set out in this Privacy Notice, (ii) to enable us to pursue our legitimate business interests, and/or (iii) for as long as necessary to comply with legal or regulatory obligations which apply to us. The personal data will be reviewed regularly and once it is deemed no longer necessary, it will be deleted securely. When determining our retention periods, we think about the amount and nature of the information, the risks posed to you by our use of it, the importance of the reasons we need to use it, whether we can achieve those objectives without using it, and other applicable legal or regulatory requirements. Should you require further information about our retention periods, please contact us using the contact details below.
Your data protection rights
Under data protection law, you have rights including:
Your right of access - You have the right to ask us for copies of your personal data.
Your right to rectification - You have the right to ask us to rectify data you think is
inaccurate. You also have the right to ask us to complete data you think is incomplete.
Your right to erasure - You have the right to ask us to erase your personal data in certain
circumstances.
Your right to restriction of processing - You have the right to ask us to restrict the processing of your data in certain circumstances.
Your right to object to processing - You have the right to object to the processing of your personal data in certain circumstances. For example, where our lawful basis for processing is legitimate interests. We must stop processing unless we have a compelling reason to continue. You also have a right to object to your data being processed for direct marketing purposes.
Your right to data portability - You have the right to ask that we transfer the information you gave us to another organisation, or to you, in certain circumstances (this only applies where we automatically use your data with your consent, or to perform a contract with you). However, it may not be technically possible and/or feasible for us to comply with your request.
Your right to withdraw consent – Where we rely on your consent to process your data, you have a right to withdraw your consent at any time. You can withdraw your consent by contacting us using the contact details below.
Your right to complain – The Company has appointed a Data Governance Manager to oversee compliance with this privacy policy. If you have any concerns about our use of your personal data, you can make a complaint to us by contacting the privacy team using the contact details below. If you remain unhappy with how we’ve used your data after raising a complaint with us, you can also complain to the UK Regulator (the Information Commissioner’s Office). Their contact details are available on their website: https://www.ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint.
Exercising your rights and contacting us
If you make a data rights request, we must respond to you without undue delay and in any event within one month.
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, would like to exercise any of your legal rights, or if you have any concerns about the handling of your personal data, please contact our privacy team using the details set out below.
STV Privacy Team:
Email: privacyteam@stv.tv
Post: STV Privacy Team, Pacific Quay, Glasgow, G51 1PQ.