Listen carefully. There, do you hear it? A hoarse pantomime-villain cackle? The sound of two dry old twigs intertwining? That's the sound of
Melanie Brown giggling and rubbing her hands together in glee bouncing around the world off satellites and stray birds.
Because now a court date has been set for Mel to extract her pound of flesh from her former lover
Eddie Murphy, and there's no doubt that she's looking towards it immensely.
The court will convene on November 14, the day before the
Spice Girls perform at their warm-up show
for Victoria's Secret, but Mel won't be able to fit in any extra rehearsals that day as she'll be circling the skies above the court and waiting to rip Murphy's wallet (or failing that, his liver) from his quivering body.
After finally proving Eddie Murphy is the father of baby
Angel Iris (ostensibly by chasing him around LA and shouting "Eddeh! Eddeh" It's yur beh-beh!"), Mel is set for a super pay day, ensuring she's kept in fish paste and leopardskin for life. Eddie meanwhile will be in contact with Dreamworks and begging for the Shrek franchise to continue long enough to pay off his debts.
'Shrek 55' should just about do it.