Rudegirls (BBC2)

IT'S an uncertain job reviewing TV from preview tapes. I was expecting to watch the programme about the boy who gave birth to his twin in C4's BodyShock but ended up, through a tape mix-up, seeing teenage girls behaving badly.

Morgan Matthews' uncompromising film Rudegirls (BBC2 tonight) makes depressing viewing. Figures suggest that teenage girls' behaviour is growing worse, with nearly twice as many being locked up as three years ago.

Matthews set out to follow the exploits of girl gangs or crews, and ended up focusing on half-a-dozen girls who rob, fight, swear and generally behave as if rules and regulations don't apply to them. To a certain extent, they're the product of their environment and, perhaps most significant of all, most had lost their fathers early in their lives.

Rudee, of The A-Girls crew, likes fighting and afterwards feels good with herself and "like I've done a good deed". She has no time for people born out of the country. People who discriminate against her deserve to die, she states matter-of-factly.

In Essex, Dee leads the Dagenham Crew in a town associated with the motor industry. She takes an interest in cars - stealing them. She has numerous cars dotted around the neighbourhood. You couldn't help but smile when one was vandalised and she told off the person responsible.

Dee worries about friend Stacy's treatment of her new baby. This was where the film became most uncomfortable, and the possibility of harm being done to the infant was a real concern as Stacy became unable to cope. "If I killed myself, it would make life a lot easier," she said. Fourteen-year-old Sherry was uncontrollable, harassing the local Hasidic Jewish community. Her attitude was simple: "When you're looking for something to do, let's go and bully people." She hadn't been to school for six months because it meant getting up too early.

How much the girls were playing up for the cameras is uncertain. Certainly, the boasts of Dee that she was wanted by the police were proved to be untrue after so-called friend Stacy shopped her following a falling out. Their mothers seemed unwilling and unable to control them, letting them do exactly as they liked. Sherry's mother's attitude towards others in the community seemed as bad as her daughter's.

By the end, you were beginning to have some sympathy with the plight of these rudegirls, despite their anti-social behaviour and disrespect for people and property. They wouldn't, I suspect, thank you for your understanding, but would be more likely to give you a mouthful of abuse.

Aladdin, Newcastle Opera House

THERE is something warm, familiar and very Christmassy about the Newcastle Opera House pantomime. And once more, a tried and tested cast of local celebrities take North-East families on a rollercoaster ride of colour, spectacle and fun.

This time, we're off to old Peking and a magical cave with Aladdin (Stephanie Constable) and the usual stalwarts, led by Maxie and Mitch, Brendan Healy and Kevin O'Keefe as Widow Twankey.

As ever, Maxie and Mitch give 101 per cent as the Chinese policemen - one of their very best panto double acts - and Brendan Healy, as Wishee Washee and the musical director, does a sterling job. For Aladdin, you need a strong Abanazar and Paul O'Shea commands the role, while the Tyne Theatre Stage School Dancers are slick and entertaining.

The colour bursts off the stage in costumes and special effects, giving this pantomime a bold and confident air from the start. I particularly liked the twinning of fluorescent skeleton costumes with tap dancing, giving a jangling of bones sensation. And even though my boys are 11-plus and they've heard it before, they still love the alternative Twelve Days of Christmas with its odd assortment of smelly socks, watering cans, rubber gloves and a three-cup bra. In the hands of these comics, it's a hoot.

Nicola Marsden

* Runs until January 3. Box office: (0191) 232 0899.

Cinderella, Gala Theatre, Durham

IN view of the current cash crisis haunting the venue, there's a certain irony that a large sign saying Hardup Hall decorates the opening set. The theatre may need a Fairy Godmother long after the final curtain, but Saturday's lively opening night audience warmly welcomed the Gala's first full-blown panto. First night nerves quickly evaporated as Pee Wee Price as Buttons used some of the onlookers' shouts to comic advantage. He also throws in a few regional insults during slanging matches with Cinders' evil stepmother The Baroness (Annie Lee-Jones) which include: "You don't frighten me, I've worked in Darlington" and "I'm sweating like a Geordie in a spelling test". Somehow the storyline coped with guest appearances from Banana In Pyjamas even if the powerfully-voiced Cinderella (Kirsti McDonagh) does end up saying: "Isn't it good to have two friends that are bananas". Unusually, director David Lee opts for a male Prince Charming (Durham University student Luke Gasper) and Dandini (Paul Hartley). But the Ugly Sisters are more traditional, with Aiden Bell and Michael James looking for laughs in a multitude of outrageous outfits. There is a distinct lack of male dancing ability, although the Rita Proctor Teensteppers and the Joanne Banks Dancers are full of enthusiasm. Snowblowers and two tiny white Shetland ponies enliven Cinderella's magic coach as the Gala trots confidently towards Christmas and a fingers-crossed New Year.

Viv Hardwick

l Runs until Sunday, January 4. Box office: 0191-332 4041