A theoretical model that explains the main experimental results on frequency doubling in fibres is developed. Special attention is paid to the recent experiment [P.G. Kazansky, V. Pruneri, Phys. Rev. Lett. 78 (1997) 2956] on the electrically stimulated second harmonic generation, which is crucial for different theories. We show that any "shake" of the system results in the burst of the second harmonic signal. This is the reason why bumps in the signal were observed after turning the strong external electric field on and off. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.