BBC Worldwide cuts first-look deal with Jane Root’s prodco

BBC Worldwide has inked a two-year first-look deal with Nutopia, the producer set up earlier this year by Jane Root, the former controller of BBC Two in the UK and most recently president of Discovery Channel US.

The deal gives Worldwide first-look, outside of the US and UK, at all Nutopia content.

Nutopia announced its first commission in September, 12x1hr factual series America: The Story of the US for US cable net History. It is also developing projects for the BBC and ITV in the UK and Discovery in the US.

Nutopia is based in London and Washington. Worldwide has increased its exposure in the US having installed Jane Tranter to head up a West Coast production unit. Worldwide said that that unit has a comedy pilot in development for an unnamed US broadcaster and he pledged that it will have a show on air in 2010.