Susan Boyle suffers ‘emotional breakdown,’ checks into hospital

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Scottish singer Susan Boyle, who placed second in the television show ‘Britain’s Got Talent,’ suffered an ‘emotional breakdown’ after the Saturday night show and checked into the Priory Clinic in Southgate, North London, according to reports in the British media.

Police were called to Boyle’s London hotel after receiving a call that the 48-year-old singer was acting strangely. Paramedics helped the ‘spaced-out’ star through the lobby and into an ambulance just after 6 p.m. local time, the reports said.

‘When the paramedics and police arrived she agreed to go voluntarily. She didn’t make a fuss. The paramedics calmly took her out through the main lobby and into the waiting ambulance,’ a source at the hotel said. ‘It was all done very calmly. They didn’t want to stress or upset her. She didn’t look well -- she looked lost, not all there.’

It’s been a tough week for the Scottish singer, long considered the favorite to win the ITV talent contest. Hounded by the paparazzi, Boyle reportedly considered dropping out of the contest because of the overwhelming pressure. She did go on to perform, again singing ‘I Dreamed a Dream’ from ‘Les Miserables,’ the song that first brought worldwide attention to dowdy woman from a village in Scotland. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough to take the prize, and the British dance group Diversity captured the win.

“The best people won,” Boyle said when the result was revealed, adding that she wished the group “all the best.

-- Lisa Fung

Caption: Jeff J. Mitchell / Getty Images