Scars healing for Wolverhampton-based Big Brother 'bully'
She was branded the most unpopular woman in Britain, made the subject of numerous hate campaigns and sickening racial abuse, had faeces posted through her letterbox and a dead rat slung over her fence.
The Big Brother experience bit hard for Wolverhampton dance teacher Pauline Bennett.
Her stint in the 15th series of the Channel 5 show in the Spring of 2014 only lasted 16 days, but the resulting backlash led to depression and unemployment.
It has taken her 18 months to get back on her feet after what she describes as a 'life shattering experience' on a show that was anything but reality TV.
"I've been through some hard times," the 51-year-old told me. "Actually, some unbearably hard times.
"For a while I was going crazy. I suffered the worst abuse, as did my family, all because of the way I was perceived on the show."
It's worth noting that Pauline had dabbled with stardom before her time in Big Brother, most notably under her nom de plume Jazzy P.
In the early 90s she sang guest vocals on the Kylie Minogue hit Shocked, appearing on Top of the Pops.
But nothing in her music career prepared her for the Big Brother experience.
The controversy stemmed from accusations that she had bullied fellow housemate Jale Karaturp.
And the foundations were laid before Pauline had even set foot in the house. She entered Big Brother billed as a no-nonsense bad ass brimming with attitude, her 'character' evident from the mean looking pen pic the show used for publicity.
Defensive and moody looking, the image portrayed in the photograph is a million miles away from the fun loving, happy-go-lucky Pauline that her friends and family know and love.
On screen she was shown as the instigator in a series of rows, leading to national newspapers scalding her for 'acid-tongued attacks'.
"People forget now, but it started so well," recalls Pauline. "I was popular in the house and Jale didn't like it. She marked my card early on and basically played the victim."
Pauline eventually became the second contestant to be evicted from the show, and left the house to a chorus of jeers. But nothing had prepared her for the sheer level of hatred that awaited her back in the real world.
She said: "When you're on the show you have no idea how you are being perceived. I came out expecting to go back to work as normal. Then I heard some of the things that had been said about me and I knew that wasn't going to happen."
What were perceived by viewers as one-sided verbal attacks on Jale resulted in 1,300 complaints to Ofcom, while producers beefed up security on her eviction night on the back of a number of death threats.
Pauline's return to her home in Wolverhampton was marked by a trio of attacks. Excrement was posted through her front door accompanied by a note which read: "This is for Jale," and a dead rat was hurled into her back garden.
Her 21-year-old son was doused in liquid in the street by furious Big Brother fans.
A Twitter account set up for her by the show had built up more than 6,000 followers, most of whom tweeted messages of hatred.
She said: "By that time I had seen some of the footage and realised what they had done. It was so one sided. Everything was edited in a way that made me look bad. If I said or did anything nice they didn't show it. For them it didn't fit in with how they wanted me to look.
"I tried to help Jale on plenty of occasions, but they never showed any of it. I spoke my mind in there and told a few hard truths, but I didn't do anything that I'm ashamed of."
Scared to stay in her home, Pauline fled to South Staffordshire and worked as a pub landlady for several months.
"My dance business that had taken 26 years to build up completely died," she said. "No parent wants to send their children to be taught by a bully.
"I was getting death threats on social media, the most horrible phone calls you can imagine. People I didn't know saying I was going to burn in hell. I was going to be lynched, stabbed and raped.
"I got involved in a bad relationship, put on a lot of weight and generally got more and more depressed.
"At my lowest point I realised I had allowed it all to happen and not really spoken up for myself after Big Brother finished.
"I had given up fighting and that's never been my way," Pauline added, recalling her lowest ebb. "For the sake of my family I just couldn't go on like that."
Rustling up renewed courage she hit the gym and battled her way back to fitness. She came back to Wolverhampton and set about applying for jobs, with her heart firmly set on a return to doing what she loves the most – teaching kids how to dance.
And in the last few weeks her dream has become reality. A phone call from an old friend eventually led to a job tutoring SoCariba dance classes at The Way, Wolverhampton's new youth zone.
"It's a real boost," said Pauline. "I thought the door had been completely closed for me. It's just great to be back doing my dream job."
There are signs the scars are starting to heal, although Pauline says that in the eyes of some she will probably always be known as 'the Big Brother bully'.
"It was meant to be a bit of fun," she said. "But it obviously didn't turn out that way for me. Looking back, even with everything that has happened I'm still glad I did it. It's made me a wiser and more driven person."