IRMA VEP, 9PM, SKY ATLANTIC

HOLLYWOOD’S biggest stars used to look down their noses at the small screen but today they’re queuing up to appear on television. The latest is the Swedish actress Alicia Vikander, the Oscar-winning star of The Danish Girl, who takes the lead in this stylish, sensual and very sophisticated U.S.-French comedy drama. It’s a reimagining of a classic 1990s indie film, which starred the Hong Kong actress Maggie Cheung as Irma Vep, and was directed by Olivier Assayas, who is also behind this new version.

Here, the action is set in present-day France, with a spellbinding performance from Vikander (pictured) as the disillusioned Hollywood movie star Mira Harberg, who, fresh from a painful breakup, arrives in Paris to take on the coveted role of iconic villainess Irma Vep in a remake of the French silent film classic The Vampires. But as Harberg throws herself into the project, she becomes so immersed in her role that the line between herself and her character starts to blur.