Scottish singing sensation Susan Boyle was tipped to give "the performance of her life" in the final of "Britain's Got Talent" tonight despite growing fears the pressure may be too much for her. Ms Boyle, a 48-year-old spinster who has been catapulted to world superstardom in just months, is runaway favourite to win the talent show even though her recent erratic behaviour suggests she is feeling the strain.
Earlier this week, she lost her temper in the foyer of the London hotel where she is staying and police stationed there intervened. "Britain's Got Talent" judge Piers Morgan said on Thursday that she was finding it "very, very difficult to cope and to stay calm". "She has been in tears many times during the last few days," he wrote on his blog. "Susan Boyle has never experienced anything like this and is like a frightened rabbit in headlights."
"On The Edge" was the front page headline on Britain's Daily Mirror newspaper today which, like many tabloids, led on the "health fears" over Ms Boyle, who was reportedly starved of oxygen at birth and has learning difficulties. The paper reported that she would be monitored by a team of medical experts including a counsellor when she goes on stage this evening. But she is still tipped to be the runaway winner.
Mr Morgan wrote after the last "Britain's Got Talent" semi-final yesterday: "My bet is that she will respond with the performance of her life at the final. "This is one tough lady who has had to fight since the day she born and there is no way she's going to quit now." The results are expected from 9.30pm and Ms Boyle is 10/11 favourite to win with bookmakers William Hill. "As far as we are concerned, she just needs to turn up to win this," William Hill spokesman Rupert Adams said.
* AFP
