Boyle simply exhausted, insists Holden

Susan Boyle has “no underlying mental issues” and is simply exhausted, Amanda Holden insisted today, as questions were raised about the care given to contestants on 'Britain’s Got Talent'.

The 48-year-old, from Blackburn, west Lothian, has been recovering at the Priory clinic in north London after suffering what her brother described as an “anxiety attack” in the wake of her surprise defeat in the Britain’s Got Talent final.

Police were called to Boyle’s hotel after she began acting strangely, and she was taken to the Priory on Sunday after being assessed under the Mental Health Act.

In the space of eight weeks Boyle has gone from the quiet life of a church volunteer in a small town in Scotland to global fame, and Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond said the show should “probably” take better care of its contestants.

He told BBC Radio Scotland’s 'Morning Extra' Boyle’s performance in Saturday’s final after weeks of intense media scrutiny was a “triumph”.

“I’m just wondering, could anybody really stand up to that sort of pressure, particularly when you’re not used to it, and not have a few difficulties with it?” he said.

“Does that mean we shouldn’t have shows like that? No, I think that show, Britain’s Got Talent, gives people an opportunity and a chance and I doubt you would find a contestant who said ’No, I didn’t want to have a go and take my chance’.

“Should they take care of their contestants a bit better? Yes, they probably should.”

Holden, one of the 'Britain’s Got Talent' judges, said she did not know how long Boyle would spend at the Priory, but said doctors had assured show staff the singer was mentally sound.

She told GMTV: “I understand that we’ve spoken to her doctors and they really have reassured us that there are no underlying mental issues and it purely is just that she’s knackered, for want of a better word.

“And I think as we all keep saying, to have been thrust into such a media circus for seven weeks – it’s hard enough for me, Piers and Simon to deal with, let alone somebody that’s had absolutely no experience.”

She defended the way contestants for the show were assessed and said more psychological screenings of contestants would be impractical.

“You can’t kind of give every single person who’s just an auditioner that kind of long-winded attention,” she told GMTV.

“But I think that what was done for Susan was the right thing to have done. I know that they’ve kind of checked her out and they’ve spoken to people in her village and there was no reason that we needed to check her for anything else, and I still agree with that.

“All these shows take great care, and there are rules and standards that we all have to stick by. And I know that we care very much about Susan and so the right people are looking after her now.”