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Really popular female performance (2,4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

in fact

'really' is the definition.
(synonyms)

'popular female performance' is the wordplay.
'popular' becomes 'in' ('in' can mean trendy).
'female' becomes 'f' (abbreviation).
'performance' becomes 'act' (act is a kind of performance).
'in'+'f'+'act'='IN FACT'

(Other definitions for in fact that I've seen before include "really!" , "Actually" , "'In reality (2,4)'" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times and The Telegraph.
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