London- BBC Worldwide has flagged that it’s looking to form a production partnership in India, similar to its alliance in Australia with the Freehand Group to develop new formats. BBC Worldwide Director of Content and Production, Wayne Garvie, said, “Local productions and formats are key to our growth plans. With BBC Worldwide’s vast programme offering, there are fantastic opportunities to extend this to local versioning, not just with our entertainment formats but also with scripted formats from our drama and comedy catalogues. Our growing network of international partnerships and production bases, together with our expertise in this field, gives us the ability to create entirely new productions for our international audiences.” Last January BBC Worldwide bought 25% of Freehand, giving the producer a first view option for Australia and New Zealand on all BBC and independent formats to which BBC Worldwide has rights. The deal also means Freehand’s formats will be distributed through BBC Worldwide’s global distribution network.