A Star Is Born

(Bradley Cooper, 2018) BBC One, 10.25pm

Lady Gaga steps into the shoes of Janet Gaynor, Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand, and proves that she has not just chutzpah but real acting skills in this latest revamp of the showbiz melodrama first made in 1937. In her most outrageous transformation yet, she de-gagafies herself to play chanteuse-next-door Ally, who falls for country rocker Jackson Maine, played by director Cooper, but soon eclipses him as a star in her own right. Anyone expecting glossy kitsch, here’s the surprise: this is a solid, engaging, mature addition to the lineage, with both leads charismatic and compelling, although Gaga’s ballads are better value than the sub-Steve Earle stuff that Cooper rocks out with (live at Coachella and elsewhere).