diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yml b/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yml
index ceefde90..5868e031 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yml
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ on:
       - '**'
     tags:
       - 'v*'
+      - '[0-9]+.[0-9]+.[0-9]+*'
   workflow_dispatch:
     inputs:
       skip_checks:
@@ -64,7 +65,7 @@ jobs:
             ENV_FILE=".env.testing"
             TRAEFIK_HOST="testing.${DOMAIN}"
           elif [[ "${{ github.ref_type }}" == "tag" ]]; then
-            if [[ "$REF" =~ ^v[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+$ ]]; then
+            if [[ "$REF" =~ ^v?[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+$ ]]; then
               TARGET="production"
               IMAGE_TAG="$REF"
               ENV_FILE=".env.prod"
@@ -113,7 +114,12 @@ jobs:
             echo "🔎 Checking for @mintel dependencies in package.json..."
             # Extract any @mintel/ version (they should be synced in monorepo)
             UPSTREAM_VERSION=$(grep -o '"@mintel/.*": "[^"]*"' package.json | grep -v "next-utils" | cut -d'"' -f4 | sed 's/\^//; s/\~//' | sort -V | tail -1)
-            TAG_TO_WAIT="v$UPSTREAM_VERSION"
+            # Ensure version starts with 'v' for ls-remote check if it doesn't already
+            if [[ "$UPSTREAM_VERSION" =~ ^[0-9] ]]; then
+              TAG_TO_WAIT="v$UPSTREAM_VERSION"
+            else
+              TAG_TO_WAIT="$UPSTREAM_VERSION"
+            fi
             
             if [[ -n "$UPSTREAM_VERSION" && "$UPSTREAM_VERSION" != "workspace:"* ]]; then
               # 1. Discovery (Works without token for public repositories)