All good pantomimes have that one scene where the naive, innocent hero asks the 'boys and girls' in the audience for their help finding the villain of the story.
'He's behind you,' the children scream as the hero wanders around the stage unaware their nemesis is but a metre away from them.
Sadly, this was a scene former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton knew all too well. Millions of people round the world saw it play out during the second presidential debate last October with foe President Donald Trump.
If you watched the debate, I think you'll agree that it was arguably one of the most aggressive and downright bizarre encounters between Clinton and Trump, with the then Republican candidate unashamedly attempting to intimidate his rival by following her around the stage like a bad smell.
Despite her defeat earlier this year, the former Secretary of State has finally opened up about this moment in the first extract from her new book What Happened, recalling how uncomfortable she felt being followed by a man who two days before had been exposed for his infamous 'pussy-grabbing' statement on tape.
'This is not OK, I thought,' Clinton writes in her latest book, following several books about her life and career in politics.
It was the second presidential debate, and Donald Trump was looming behind me. Two days before, the world heard him brag about groping women. Now we were on a small stage and no matter where I walked, he followed me closely, staring at me, making faces. It was incredibly uncomfortable. He was literally breathing down my neck. My skin crawled.
It was one of those moments where you wish you could hit pause and ask everyone watching: 'Well, what would you do?' Do you stay calm, keep smiling and carry on as if he weren't repeatedly invading your space? Or do you turn, look him in the eye, and say loudly and clearly: "Back up, you creep, get away from me! I know you love to intimidate women, but you can't intimidate me, so back up."
Instead, she used her 'lifetime of dealing with difficult men trying to throw me off' and chose to maintain her composure, by 'biting my tongue, digging my fingernails into a clenched fist, smiling all the while determined to present a composed face to the world'.
In another passage from her book, out on 12 September, the former presidential nominee outlines that her latest literary endeavour is not a 'comprehensive account of the 2016 race'.
'I have too greater distance and too much stake it in,' she adds.
'Instead, she explains: 'I want to pull back the curtain on an experience that was exhilarating, joyful, humbling, infuriating and just plain baffling. Writing this wasn't easy.
'Every day that I was a candidate for president, I knew that millions of people were counting on me and I couldn't bear the idea of letting them down. But I did. I couldn't get the job done. And I'll have to live with that for the rest of my life,' she concludes.
Hillary you did the job as best you could.
Now, come here for a big bear hug.
You can purchase a copy of 'What Happened' here.
Katie O'Malley is the Site Director on ELLE UK. On a daily basis you’ll find Katie managing all digital workflow, editing site, video and newsletter content, liaising with commercial and sales teams on new partnerships and deals (eg Nike, Tiffany & Co., Cartier etc), implementing new digital strategies and compiling in-depth data traffic, SEO and ecomm reports. In addition to appearing on the radio and on TV, as well as interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Rishi Sunak PM, Katie enjoys writing about lifestyle, culture, wellness, fitness, fashion, and more.
