THE fashion for docu-biographies continues with Kylie (Netflix, available now), directed by the producer responsible for the documentary series Beckham in 2023. Kylie is also an entertaining and nostalgic tribute with the tissue-thin insights that you would expect from a production in which the star is heavily involved.

That is no reason to deter you from watching this sentimental and, at times, touching homage to the Princess of Pop (Madonna being the Queen, of course), whose songs have been streamed more than five billion times. There is the usual archive footage and personal recollections, as well as contributions from her sister, Dannii, and Nick Cave, Pete Waterman, and Jason Donovan, who, unfortunately, wears a pair of leather trousers for his interview, providing a cringey foreshadowing of how that goes. Bitter, much? Yes, he is, and not without reason — Kylie left him for Michael Hutchence — but he is nothing if not refreshingly honest, God love him.

There is a lot of fun here, particularly in the contributions from Waterman (no stranger to hyperbole), reflecting on his first meeting with Kylie: “There’s a small Antipodean in reception, wanting to make a record.” His musings on pop are typically mercenary: “It’s disposable. . . You don’t analyse it to find out what’s happening in Nicaragua.” He might be right; but I prefer the description from the unlikely source of Cave, who described it as “a joy machine”.

Cave described Kylie as “a beam of light”, someone who “likes life”, which is extra-poignant in the light of her diagnoses for cancer, first in 2004 and then again in 2021. I really enjoyed this uplifting portrayal of the Australian “girl next door” who found her niche and has owned it unapologetically ever since.

There is less than a week to go before the FIFA World Cup begins, and Dear England (BBC1, 24 May) is just the thing to get us in the mood. I heard great things about the hit play by James Graham on which this is based, and so had high hopes, going in.

It is a fictionalised account of attempts by the then England manager, Gareth Southgate, to bring home the goods after endless years of hurt for the men’s football team. I was not disappointed. This is superb television. It is rousing, stirring stuff, with a thumping soundtrack and vivid performances, particularly from Joseph Fiennes, who reprises his stage role as our waistcoat-wearing hero Southgate, in a turn that is spookily real.

This is much more than a drama about glory and goals: it is about how culture is driven by the stories that we tell ourselves, and how it is important to cultivate an environment that is not shaped by fear. Stories can imprison or empower, but, when we have belief, we can do anything. With that in mind: Come on, England!