Boyle rushed to clinic after surprise defeat

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(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-06-01 17:05

LONDON -- Scottish singing sensation Susan Boyle was rushed to a London clinic with mental health problems after coming a shock second on a talent show, media reported Monday.

Boyle rushed to clinic after surprise defeat

An ITV photo shows Scottish charity worker Susan Boyle appearing on Britain's Got Talent television show in April. [Agencies]

Boyle, whose soaring singing voice made her an unlikely global star, was taken by ambulance to the Priory Clinic in north London Sunday accompanied by paramedics and police when she started acting strangely at her hotel in the British capital, The Sun newspaper reported.

The news came hours after she suffered a surprise defeat late Saturday in the "Britain's Got Talent" show, when she was voted into second place in a public vote behind urban dance troupe Diversity.

In a sign of how big the story has become, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he had spoken to the show's judges about Boyle on Sunday because he "wanted to be sure that she was OK", he told ITV television Monday.

Talkback Thames, the show's producers, said the singing star was "exhausted and emotionally drained" following the final.

"She has been seen by her private GP (doctor) who supports her decision to take a few days out for rest and recovery," it said in a statement. "We offer her our ongoing support and wish her a speedy recovery."

The Priory, which says on its website it specialises "in the treatment of mental health problems", could not immediately be reached for comment.

It is part of an exclusive chain of private clinics which is known for treating troubled performers including Amy Winehouse and Pete Doherty.

Asked about the reports, a Scotland Yard spokesman said police were called at 6:00pm (1700 GMT) Sunday to a hotel "to doctors assessing a woman under the Mental Health Act". They did not confirm her identity in line with policy.

"Police and ambulance attended," the spokesman said. "The woman was taken voluntarily by ambulance to a clinic. At the request of doctors, police accompanied the ambulance."

Boyle, a 48-year-old spinster from a small town in Scotland who was starved of oxygen at birth and has mild learning difficulties, had a meteoric rise to fame in the last two months.

The frumpy church volunteer became a star around the world, and particularly in the US, after footage of her singing "I Dreamed A Dream" from the musical "Les Miserables" in the "Britain's Got Talent" auditions became a YouTube hit, with at least 100 million viewings.

Bookmakers had made her hot favourite to win the final although in the days leading up to it, there were signs she was struggling to cope with the pressure.

Last week, she was spoken to by police after an angry outburst at her hotel, while "Britain's Got Talent" judge Piers Morgan described her as being like "a frightened rabbit in headlights" and said she had considered quitting the show.

Even though she lost, she was still reportedly poised to earn up to eight million pounds (nine million euros, 13 million dollars) in the next year from a record deal, a book about her life and even a film.

She had been set to start rehearsing an album of showtunes this week and fly to Prague next month for recording sessions with the Czech National Symphony Orchestra, media said.

A total of 19.2 million people watched the "Britain's Got Talent" final on live television Saturday, making it the country's most popular television programme for five years.

After the contest, Morgan called Boyle "the greatest discovery the show's ever found".

"I'm only sorry that the extraordinary tidal wave of publicity she attracted meant so many people got either bored or irritated by Boyle mania and decided not to vote for her as a result," he wrote on his blog.