Cleaner forced to go topless in farce (7)
I believe the answer is:
charade
'farce' is the definition.
(both can mean absurd or false situation)
'cleaner forced to go topless' is the wordplay.
'cleaner' becomes 'char' (charwoman is a type of cleaner).
'forced' becomes 'made' (both can mean coerced).
'to go topless' means to remove the first letter.
'made' with its initial letter taken away is 'ade'.
'char'+'ade'='CHARADE'
'in' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for charade that I've seen before include "Film with Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn" , "sham" , "An absurd pretence, could be a game" , "Farcical pretence" , "Farce - mime" .)