The singer had an "emotional breakdown" following Saturday's final in which she was runner-up.

The 48-year-old virgin, tipped to earn about $13 million, survived tears and a tantrum to finish second in Saturday's gripping final of television's "Britain's Got Talent."
But the pressure finally showed late yesterday as the Scottish singer was rushed to the private clinic suffering from exhaustion.

Paramedics helped the "spaced-out" star through the lobby and into an ambulance just after 6 p.m. local time. A Met Police Inspector and a police doctor were called to assist. The ambulance, tailed by a police car, then took her to the Priory clinic in Southgate, North London.

A source at the hotel said last night: "She'd been at the hotel for a few days, but since Saturday's final had been acting strangely, causing a bit of a stir.


"The staff were concerned - something wasn't right.

"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.

"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."

A source at the clinic said last night: "I was having a cigarette break when a whole load of ambulances arrived. Everyone was saying, 'Who's that'? Then I saw her and it was Susan Boyle. I was gobsmacked."