Monday January 7, 2008

Television ’shrink’ Dr. Phil McGraw has pulled the plug on his Britney Spears special show, amid reports that her family boycotted it.

The ‘Dr. Phil Now’ star released a statement on his website claiming the situation surrounding the troubled pop princess was “too intense” for him to go ahead with the taping.

But just hours earlier it was reported that Britney’s father Jamie Spears had banned her relatives from taking part in the show, which had been due to film today.

Dr. Phil became a bizarre part of the Britney media circus on Saturday, when it emerged he had visited the Toxic singer in hospital.

The talk show host claimed Britney’s family had asked him to speak to the troubled star at Cedar’s Sinai Medical Center and said he spent an hour with the singer before walking her to her car.

But hospital sources reportedly told online journalists that Dr. Phil had shown up unannounced, only spent 15 minutes with Britney and merely followed the star as she walked to her car.

Amidst the growing negative publicity, McGraw has now cancelled his Britney special and vowed to keep the details of their conversation private. “As was widely reported this weekend, at the request of concerned family members, I visited Britney Spears in the hospital,” his statement said. “The details of that visit will, of course, remain private.

“We had planned to tape a Dr. Phil Now show today, focusing not on the tabloid side of Britney’s latest problems, but instead on the very serious issues surrounding this case.

“Clearly, it is not just Britney’s family struggling to find a way to protect adult children who cannot be ordered or compelled to seek help.”

The statement continued: “Because the Spears situation is too intense at this time, and out of consideration to the family, I have made the decision not to move forward with the taping at this particular time.

“Britney and her family are in our prayers, and we ask that they be in yours.”

Earlier on Monday, Dr. Phil appeared on CBS’s The Early Show and claimed Britney’s family was “very frustrated” that the pop star wasn’t held for a longer period of time in hospital.

The 26-year-old singer was admitted to Cedar’s Sinai last week, under California’s “5150 Hold”, because she was thought to be a danger to herself and others.

Britney’s hospitalization came after she locked herself in the bathroom with youngest son Jayden James and refused to hand him over to ex-hubby Kevin Federline.

Under the “5150 Hold”, hospitals are entitled to keep patients under observation for 72 hours, but Britney was released on Saturday morning.

The singer’s parents were thought to be participating in Dr. Phil’s special Britney show. But according to media reports, her dad Jamie banned them from any involvement with the episode.

“As soon as Jamie realized Dr. Phil was making public statements about Britney, including assessments of her condition, he got angry,” a source at the show told Life and Style magazine.

“He started making phone calls to everybody in the family, telling them not to cooperate with Dr. Phil.

“Jamie was totally incensed that Dr. Phil – who he knows a little, because Lynne is friends with Dr. Phil’s wife – seemed to be using Britney for self-promotion.

“Dr. Phil had told Jamie everything would be off the record until the show was done.

“But after Jamie made his phone calls, Lynne and Bryan [Britney's brother] agreed not to appear on Dr. Phil’s show.”