Britains Got Talent star Susan Boyle, who has become an internet sensation, at her front door in Blackburn.

Originally uploaded by johncare

My words, when I witnessed the increasing media pressure on the unlikely star, have come back to haunt me. I hoped fervently that the Britain’s Got Talent team were looking after her, and making sure that she could cope. It seems clear now that she cannot cope and she has been admitted to The Priory, apparently of her own volition.

But, even last night on Channel 4 News, it became clear that her brother (and there seem to be many siblings but he is the spokesman) was still here in Scotland whilst she has been admitted for care. Why? If he was your brother would you not want him to be in London looking after your interests, and making sure that you really had gone into a clinic of your own free will?

My thoughts are with Susan Boyle. I hope that she recovers to be a strong individual who can cope with this new life which to a large extent the media have foisted upon her.

Losing the crown to Diversity she looked a little bemused and puzzled but she was gracious in defeat. I hope she can continue to be gracious and learn to live with celebrity on a day to day basis. But it would also be a good thing if the press and her public would allow her to do that on her own terms and to continue to live in her home in Blackburn with her cat, and not hound her out of the only safe haven she has known.