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THE HAIRY ANGEL…

2nd   Jun

The burning question on everyone's lips following Saturday's final of Britain's Got Talent is "Should Susan Boyle have been allowed to go on the show?"

But this question is harder to answer than people think. The fact of the matter is that the woman, mentally challenged or not, has talent. She can sing; whether she can sing more than two songs remains to be seen, but she sings those two brilliantly.

And shouldn't everyone, regardless of age, sex, race, and disability be given the same chance?

However, I sat watching Saturday night's final on the edge of my seat for all the wrong reasons. What should have been pleasurable and exciting viewing was unnerving, uncomfortable and downright cringe worthy.

Rather than thinking "I hope Diversity wins" I was thinking, "Oh my God, what will Susan do next?"

After watching Susan wander the stage aimlessly after Ant and Dec announced she was in the top three, clearly without a clue what was going on, I found myself shouting at the TV screen for someone get her out of there. I felt Susan was totally out of her depth and should have had someone with her to support her and guide her through the whole daunting process.

Then comes the final announcement. Susan is standing stony faced, giving nothing away. By this point I know something bad is going to happen, this is a woman on the edge, one who has already cracked under the enormous pressure over the past week.

But to my surprise, when Diversity are announced as the deserving winners, Susan quite articulately congratulates them and says the "best person won". Phew. No drama, no tantrum. And then she gets her legs out and starts hip wiggling suggestively. At this point I am honestly thinking the woman is going to get her whole kit off on national television whilst Ant and Dec grapple to keep her under wraps.

I sound like I'm taking the mickey out of Susan, and to be honest I laugh nervously as I recall Saturday's events. But the stark truth of the matter is that this wasn't entertainment, it was car crash TV at the expense of an honest, simple and shy lady.

Susan Boyle, regardless of her unquestionable talent, is a mentally unbalanced woman who was left to go on stage completely alone in front of millions of people. For any 'normal' person this would have been nerve-wracking and upsetting. But for brain-damaged Susan it was beyond the realms of anything she could have imagined whist holed up in her Scottish council house with her cat.

So is it any wonder that minutes after the show ended Susan stripped to her bra and ran down a corridor throwing water over the floor manager? Her bizarre and erratic behaviour on stage should have been a clue for the show's producers to get her out of there as soon as possible.

The thing is that Talkback Thames, and whoever else is responsible for making the show, would have received worldwide criticism if they HADN'T allowed Susan to sing on Saturday night. Critics would have blasted the show for not encouraging equal opportunities, not allowing her to sing, cheating the fans etc.

So alright, Talkback knew Susan would pull in the ratings. But at the end of the day the viewers voted to keep her in and the show's producers did the best they could in a difficult situation. They could have done a bit better; Susan should have had someone nearby on stage to assist her and she should have had someone take her away when the show ended.

But whilst I feel incredibly sorry for Susan, and I hope she gets well soon, I think she'll have the last laugh on this one. She'll get better. And in six months time she'll have a record contract sorted, an army of health professionals watching her every move, and a million quid in the bank.

Written by Emma