Sugar Rush (C4); Cutting It (BBC1)

FROM the opening scene showing a 15-year-old girl using an electric toothbrush in a way that would make her dentist blush, it's obvious that Sugar Rush is a little different from most children's television. It may be based on a book for teenagers, but if there's such a thing as a watershed any more, it is very definitely past it.

After moving to Brighton with her drippy dad and frustrated mum, Kim bumps into Sugar, quite literally, as Sugar is shoplifting at the time. This is the catalyst for her sexual awakening, as she develops a crush on Sugar, the smoking, drinking and very heterosexual bad girl around town.

Kim wonders how she knows she is gay when she's never slept with a boy, but when looking at underwear models in catalogues fails to move her, and a kiss with her gay neighbours' son doesn't get her hot under the collar, she starts to realise that what she really wants from Sugar is to be more than just friends.

After coming home to find the handyman getting handy with her mum over the kitchen table, Kim turns to Sugar for comfort, but it's not her shoulder she wants to cry on. And although she manages to get close in a toilet cubicle, Sugar remains blissfully unaware of her friend's secret longing.

While it may no longer be the case that all teenagers are tucked up in bed by the time it airs - 10.50pm - there's a suspicion Sugar Rush is not really aimed at them at all, a suspicion which only deepens when Kim's dad tries to cheer her up with her favourite dinner, toad in the hole, only without the toad, just hole.

But with its strong leads - Olivia Hallinan and Lenora Crichlow - and snappy editing, reminiscent of that other "teen" drama As If, Sugar Rush is an entertaining ride, although it's also well named: a rapid high that swiftly fades in the memory.

The question for Cutting It is whether it can survive into a fourth series after the loss of two of its stars, Amanda Holden and Ben Daniels. If, like me, you have as much experience of this hairdressing drama as Sugar Rush's Kim has of boys, the first episode seemed a little baffling, but briefly it concerned Allie and Gavin (Sarah Parish and Jason Merrells) opening a new training academy.

There's the usual race against time to get it ready for the opening day - from building site to sparkling interior in less time than it takes Lawrence Llewellyn-Bowen to flick his cuffs - and enough secrets and misunderstandings laid down to keep the interest going over a whole series.

But while the cast may be impressive, its script-by-numbers means it's more likely to appeal to returning customers than to win over any new fans.

Lord Arthur Savile's Crime, Newcastle Theatre Royal

TREVOR Baxter has done a skilful job in adapting Oscar Wilde's play, which features an authentic Victorian set complete with printed cards on an easel to announce each act.

Gullible young Lord Arthur, engagingly played by John Sackville, is about to marry Sybil Merton and clearly the young couple are very much in love. Lord Arthur meets Septimus Podgers, a self-styled fortune-teller, and discovers that some of his predictions do not involve any extrasensory skill.

When Podgers is threatened with exposure, he offers to read Lord Arthur's palm, and recoils from what he sees there. When pressed, he reveals that the young lord will commit a murder.

Afraid that the most obvious victim would be the person he loves best, Arthur reasons that he can protect his bride-to-be by killing someone else, thus fulfilling the prophecy without harming his lady love.

Among his unfortunate targets are an elderly aunt, played to the crusty hilt by Gay Lambert, and his uncle, the Dean of Chichester, a part taken with relish by Royce Mills. His expressions of outraged disbelief following an attempt on his life earned him a round of applause.

Sybil's guardian, the robust Lady Windermere, gives former sex kitten Susan Penhaligon a chance to shine in a comic role and she takes it with both hands. Ingenue Sybil is a doddle for Sara Crowe.

Russ Abbot has a wonderful time as Podger, fruitily projecting his voice and sporting a red dressing gown. A very jolly evening.

l Runs until Saturday. Booking Office: 0870 9055060

Sue Heath

Published: ??/??/2004