Am I a bad person for getting excited when I saw the headline
'Pop Star's Suicide Attempt' on the front of the Evening Standard yesterday? And am I a badder person for being a bit disappointed when I discovered that the 'pop star' in question was East 17's
Brian Harvey? How much better a story would it have been had the suicidal pop star been Kelly Osbourne or Pete Doherty or
Matt from Busted? But no, it was Brian Harvey from East 17.
And not even he had really attempted suicide - or at least that's the line his management were taking last night.
A spokesman for Harvey said that while the former pop star and
'I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here' contestant has entered a clinic for depression, the reported suicide attempt was not true. Said spokesman said that a worried friend had taken Harvey to hospital after he had taken "one or two" sleeping tablets, but stressed it was nothing more serious than that.
He told reporters: "Reports of Brian attempting suicide are totally untrue. On Friday night, he was feeling depressed and his dad came round to see him. His dad gave him one or two sleeping tablets which knocked him out big time. Later that night, a friend went round to his house, saw him out cold and thought something was wrong, so took him to hospital. Doctors soon realised
Harvey was fine and sent him home. Brian's sleep problems are part of his depression and he realised they were a danger sign.
So yesterday, he checked himself into a clinic for a week's treatment. I spoke to him this morning and he is finding the story of his supposed suicide attempt quite amusing."