Cutting It (BBC1)

I Saw You (ITV)

TWO new series but the people behind them alert you to what to expect. I Saw You comes with a label proclaiming "from the makers of Cold Feet". One of the stars, Fay Ripley, is even the same to make you feel even more comfortable. And if wise-cracking singleton Grace seems like a close relation of her Cold Feet character, all the better. No one achieved good ratings by being original.

Last year's pilot episode of this romantic comedy saw single mother Grace and optician Ben (Paul Rhys) hooking up. The three episodes coming up, set 18 months later, show them in danger of unhooking themselves. The course of true love never running smooth and all that. As Grace points out, she's a kamikaze pilot as far as relationships are concerned - "I get hurt, you get hurt".

Ripley gets to show off her sultry singing voice as Grace and deliver a succession of one-liners as aristocractic Peter (Alexander Armstrong) makes a play for her - and succeeds, leaving Ben to try his luck with someone else. This is all very nicely done, pleasant to watch and, if it doesn't break any new ground, is none the worse for that.

Cutting It is written by Debbie Horsfield and contains all the hallmarks of her writing. It's an energetic, robust ensemble piece set in Manchester. The BBC trailers have wasted no time informing viewers the story centres around a hairdressing war - which is a pity, because the plot doesn't actually reach that point until the end of the first episode.

If you've seen the previews, there won't be any surprises. You'll know that posh Amanda Holden opens a hairdressing shop dead opposite the one run by a less posh couple, Sarah Parish and Jason Merrells. Amanda's shop rejoices in the title of Blade Runner, and she gets Posh and Becks to perform the opening ceremony. That's how upmarket it is.

You'll know too that Holden's husband Ben Daniels is Parish's old flame (and whose pilot light is still on). Parish also comes equipped with a family and shop full of quirky characters who'll no doubt all take a turn centre stage over coming weeks.

Cutting It is bolder and brassier than I Saw You, with its slightly more sophisticated edge. But the Horsfield series seems likely to have the longer life and will probably elevate Parish into the top league of TV actresses.

True Britt

The Dragon Variation,

Billingham Forum Theatre

ONE of the world's most beautiful women is almost unnoticed at the beginning of this witty work which never quite decides whether we're being offered mystery, thriller or romance.

Emerging from behind a piano, Britt Ekland, still remarkably slender, moves as stiffly as her well-lacquered hair. She knows her lines and avoids falling over the furniture, but this is always a good rather than a great performance as a Tory cabinet minister's widow in country retreat, driven to near-madness by her husband's sleazy private life.

The tour de force is Neil Stacy, who is simply credited as the stranger. In fact, he appears as a succession of mysterious characters who act out a complicated series of charades with the once languid sex goddess Ekland as the moody Ellen Blake.

Giles Watling is the all-too familiar scandal-sheet journalist, Mrs Blake's nephew Douglas, demanding answers about his uncle's death and asking too many questions concerning his aunt's reclusive theatre for one.

While Wilde would have been proud of several of playwright Robert King's rejoinders, the overall impression is that the balmy and better-educated spend their time discussing Klee, Kafka and Kasparov with a little Dorothy L Sayers thrown in to amuse the masses. The play's title is taken from an actual tactic in chess, but the only move we really wait for is the endgame involving Douglas' inflammatory decision to put all his suspicions in a book.

Viv Hardwick

The Dragon Variation runs until Saturday. Evenings at 8, Saturday Matinee 2.30pm. Tickets: £10-£12. Box Office: (01642) 552663

Next week (April 22-27) the play moves to York's Grand Opera House. Box Office: (01904) 671818

Carousel, Teesside Amateur Operatic Society, Middlesbrough Theatre

THE society performs a rousing production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the company and the centenary of Richard Rogers. This musical is the perfect way to showcase the considerable singing talents of the cast with popular songs such as You'll Never Walk Alone and June is Busting Out All Over performed with enthusiasm and talent.

The story is set around a carnival where young Julie Jordan meets the roguish, but good-looking, Billy Bigelow who works the Carousel. The ensuing love story takes us into the next world and beyond.

The excellent voices of the cast include Alan Phelps (Billy), Katherine Bean (Julie), Alison Dale (Carrie) and Simon Dale (Mr Snow) and are complemented by a very good live orchestra. The younger members of the cast add to the carnival atmosphere with some talented acrobatics, ballet dancing and an amusing dancing bear.

Colourful costumes and a striking set, particularly the glowing Carousel itself, lend powerful support.

Michelle Hedger

Carousel runs until Saturday with performances at 7.15pm plus a Saturday matinee at 2.15pm. Box Office: (01642) 815181