Celebrity psychiatrist on Susan Boyle in the Priory
- 00:00:33
- ITN
Celebrity psychiatrist on Susan Boyle in the Priory
Susan Boyle is recovering after being admitted to a clinic following her shock defeat in the final of Britain's Got Talent. Her brother Gerry Boyle, 55, of Musselburgh, East Lothian, said the Scottish singing sensation, who is at the Priory in north London, sounds "a bit happier" after losing to dance act Diversity on Saturday night in front of millions of ITV viewers. He said: "She's at the Priory talking to people there about how she feels and where she goes from here. I spoke to her yesterday and then she telephoned me this morning as well. "She sounds a lot better today. She was a wee bit anxious yesterday and a bit fatigued and a bit sort of, you know, 'where's it all going and what happens now?'. "But she sounded a bit happier, she sounded a bit more like herself, but certainly a bit more rested and she seems to be coming home. I think her friends in America would call this an anxiety attack. "She's been on a tremendous rollercoaster. There's been an enormous amount of media speculation and intense activity. She's not used to that. She's coming to terms with that now that she's no longer an anonymous face." He added: "I think what led up to it was the build-up to the show and just psyching herself up for that and then wondering after the show 'where do I go now?'." Boyle was rushed to the private clinic in Southgate, north London, on Sunday night after Talent staff contacted police to say she was acting strangely at her London hotel. Officers were called to assist and she was taken there by ambulance under police escort. A Scotland Yard spokeswoman said: "Police were called at approximately 6pm to a central London hotel to doctors assessing a woman under the Mental Health Act. Police and ambulance attended. "The woman was taken voluntarily by ambulance to a clinic. At the request of doctors, police accompanied the ambulance." Television company talkbackThames has released a statement offering her "ongoing support" amid newspaper reports that she had run amok backstage after her loss, shouting: "I hate this show." Britain's Got Talent judge Piers Morgan said Boyle was emotionally drained and exhausted after being put under more pressure than any other contestant in the show. He said: "Nobody has had to put up with the kind of attention Susan has had. Nobody could have predicted it. It has been crazy, she has gone from anonymity to being the most downloaded woman in history." He said that the length of time Boyle had to wait between her semi-final performance and the final, a week later, had added to the pressure. "It just builds and builds and builds." He said Boyle, unlike the other contestants, had been subject to attention from international media and added that "a little bit of negativity crept in." But he insisted that the show's runner-up was, "essentially fine". He said: "She was very tired and hasn't been sleeping. She has just gone away to have some time to herself and to sleep and eat, doing all the things she hasn't been able to do in the last week." Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: "I hope Susan Boyle is OK because she is a really, really nice person and I think she will do well. I spoke to Simon Cowell last night and to Piers Morgan and wanted to be sure that she was OK. "But also to praise Diversity, just an amazing success for Britain and that will go right round the world."
ITN | June 1, 2009
