The key moments in the US Presidential debate
Here are key moments from the live televised debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton in the race for the White House.
The tape recording of Mr Trump in which he talks about grabbing women ''by the p***y'' plunged his campaign into turmoil - making the debate even more eagerly anticipated.
"This was locker room talk. I'm not proud of it. I've apologised to my family. I've apologised to the American people. Certainly I'm not proud of it, but this is locker room talk," he said.
Mr Trump also said he has "great respect" for women.
The Democratic candidate said the comments about women made in the tape by Mr Trump represent "exactly who he is".
Mrs Clinton said he had insulted women throughout the presidential campaign, saying: "What we all saw and heard on Friday was Donald talking about women, what he thinks about women, what he does to women, and he has said that the video doesn't represent who he is, but I think it's clear to anyone who heard it that it represents exactly who he is, because we've seen this through the campaign.
"We've seen him insult women, we've seen him rate women on their appearance, ranking them from one to 10, we've seen him embarrass women on TV and on Twitter."
The Republican candidate met women who have accused former US president Bill Clinton of rape and other unwanted sexual advances just over an hour before he faced Hillary Clinton in the televised showdown.
The Trump pre-debate event was thought to be a sign that he planned to use Mr Clinton as a distraction from the controversy over his own predatory remarks about women.
During the debate he said "there's never been anybody in the history of politics in this nation that's been so abusive to women" as Mr Clinton.
After Donald Trump's accusations about her husband, Hillary Clinton said a lot of what he had said was "not right".
She said what came to mind was advice from friend First Lady Michelle Obama - "When they go low, you go high".
Mrs Clinton said everyone can draw their own conclusions about whether Mr Trump respects women.
Mr Trump said Mrs Clinton should be in jail over her use of a private email server while she was US secretary of state.
He said: ''I hate to say it but if I win I'm going to instruct my attorney general to get a special prosecutor to look into your situation."
In response, Mrs Clinton said: ''It's just awfully good that someone with the temperament of Donald Trump is not in charge of the law in this country.''
And Mr Trump replied: ''Because you'd be in jail.''
The final question in the debate drew a chuckle from the two candidates as they were asked to think of something they respected about each other.
Mrs Clinton said: ''I respect his children. His children are incredibly able and I think that says a lot about Donald.''
Mr Trump said: ''I will say this about Hillary - she doesn't quit, she doesn't give up. I tell it like it is. She's a fighter.''
When the candidates were introduced to the audience, they did not shake hands when they arrived on stage.
Instead, the pair stood side by side before the debate kicked off.
But they shook hands after 90 minutes of tense exchanges.
