Difficult situation of throaty Sue, pasty regularly (3,4)
I believe the answer is:
hot seat
'difficult situation' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'throaty sue pasty regularly' is the wordplay.
'regularly' indicates alternate letters (regularly take one letter, leave next etc.).
'throaty'+'sue'+'pasty'='throatysuepasty'
The alternate letters of 'throatysuepasty' are 'HOT SEAT'.
'of' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for hot seat that I've seen before include "Difficult situation" , "Position carrying full responsibility" , "Uncomfortable or tricky situation (informal)" , "Situation of responsibility or danger" , "new constituency" .)