Documentary-makers often say that building relationships with their contributors is the most important skill of their job – yet it takes place around the margins of the more tangible tasks of filming and editing, often without pay or acknowledgment from the media industries. This paper explores documentary relationships as a form of work, examining what it means when a job entails the production of intimate connections, which are also subject to commercial pressures and imperatives. By analysing how these relationships function on three different levels – interpersonally, procedurally and organisationally – I will consider the implications for cultural policy, regulation and duty of care.