The media can't diagnose Susan Boyle –and we shouldn't try

So here we are again. Another day, another raft of stories about this year's reality TV talent sensation, Susan Boyle. Except, of course, that what is unfolding now is something different.
The latest news reports have made us all well aware that Boyle has been admitted to hospital – the Priory, no less – after apparently being assessed by mental health professionals. The speculation as to whether she has (as the show's producers contend) been dealing with that condition celebrities contract now and then, exhaustion, or whether she is indeed dealing with something more serious has taken on a life of its own. So let's stop for a moment, shall we? Let's take some much needed stock of what lies beneath all the showbiz hyperbole.
And let's be clear about one thing: it is neither helpful nor constructive for the media – or production companies – to speculate on the state of someone's mental health. At the other end of this media frenzy is a person. Yes, we may be interested in her. Yes, she may be intriguing for a whole host of reasons that have been widely reported. But we do not really know what her current circumstances are.
This is what we do know – and it should inform how this story is ultimately reported: We know that Boyle can sing. We know she has been a media phenomenon. We know she led a relatively quiet life until she was catapulted to extraordinary and sudden fame and, as would anyone, will have found the attention daunting. We also know she has a learning disability and now we know she has been admitted to a hospital. What we do not know is her current mental or emotional state. If, as it should, it takes medical professionals time to consider and assess an individual in their care, then the press needs to be very careful indeed of attempting its own diagnosis.
We are not in possession of all the facts and until such times as we are there is a real danger of fuelling ignorance not only around mental illness but around learning disability. Many reports over the weeks have mentioned that Boyle has a learning disability. Disability campaigners say there are questions to be asked of the production company, Talkback Thames, as to what support and advice (in particular independent support) has been provided to Boyle. They are, of course, right. Campaigners worry that as a result of how Boyle's story is presented unjustified links may be made between learning disability and mental illness because of general ignorance around what learning disability actually is. They may be proven right about this too.
But campaigners are also anxious that the fallout from this saga will lead to people with learning disabilities being excluded in future from even entering such contests because they are deemed too high risk. The fact is that, if offered appropriate support in the first place – based as it should be on each individual's own needs – people with milder learning disabilities can do all kinds of things at all kinds of levels. It would be tragic if this fact was lost in the midst of media hype around one person.
Boyle's rise to fame has been exceptional even in the age of reality television and YouTube, which helped propel her to global fame. She started out as a curiosity and has ended up under relentless scrutiny. After all that has happened how both the production company and the wider media handle her current situation in the coming days should itself be subject to scrutiny.
However, first and foremost it is incumbent upon those of use who write about this to do so calmly and to be mindful of the impact reporting around mental health issues and learning disability can have both on individuals and wider society's attitudes. Press coverage of mental illness may have improved in recent years but the media has a chequered history when it comes to this subject. Research clearly shows that issues around mental health are often misreported or sensationalised. It also shows that they tend to grossly exaggerate links between mental illness and violence.
It is ghoulish enough to watch seasoned celebrities such as Britney Spears, Kerry Katona or Paul Gascoigne when they are under the brutal media spotlight for possible mental health difficulties. We need to leave this woman alone while people who do actually know what is going on try to help her.