Cineflix Media already has a U.S. scripted series division, Cineflix Studios, and is shortly to announce a Canadian studio.

Now Cineflix Studios has pacted with veteran British TV producer Tony Wood to launch Buccaneer Media as a U.K. beachhead for scripted TV production.

The joint venture will produce scripted programming for international broadcasters as Cineflix Media, long a factual TV producer, looks to established a scripted TV presence in the key American, Canadian and British markets.

“The U.K. in its own right is a big market and he (Wood) has a huge amount of expertise in that market,” Peter Smith, CEO of Cineflix Studios, told Playback on Wednesday.

Wood was most recently creative director at Lime Pictures before setting up his own production shingle in Buccaneer.

At Lime, his TV credits included the reality show The Only Way is Essex, the popular Hollyoaks drama.

Wood also executive produced the long-running Coronation Street soap opera for two years to 2006.

His U.S. experience includes the scripted format House of Anubis for Nickelodeon, now into its third season, and airing in 45 counties worldwide.

And Wood has some U.S. reality series development experience, but no production credits.

He told Playback that Buccaneer and Wood’s Rolodex of British creative talent will piggy-back on Cineflix Studios to expand beyond the British market into North America, and especially Canada.

“Economic attractions in working there (Canada) are clear. I will want to bring the writing talent from Britain into Canada. I will be able to find a larger volume on series than is possible here,” Wood added.

Buccaneer has a development deal with Impact Film and Television, producers of Lost Christmas, and two unspecified projects in the works with North American broadcasters.

“Our ambition is to build a globally focused company producing everything from family entertainment to high quality drama and structured reality rooted in the social media landscape,” Wood insisted.

Buccaneer’s programming will be sold internationally by Cineflix Rights, the distribution division of Cineflix Media.