The French strip — she washes and irons (9)
I believe the answer is:
laundress
'she washes and irons' is the definition.
(someone who launders clothes)
'the french strip' is the wordplay.
'the french' becomes 'la' ('the' in French).
'strip' becomes 'undress' (synonyms).
'la'+'undress'='LAUNDRESS'
(Other definitions for laundress that I've seen before include "Cleaner" , "A professional lady washer of clothes" , "Woman washing clothes" , "who's got her clothes?" , "She'll clean" .)