Ant and Dec have spoken out in defence of the decision to allow Susan Boyle to audition for Britain’s Got Talent.

Susan had an emotional breakdown after failing to win the show but Ant told the Media Guardian Edinburgh International Television Festival: “You can’t start censoring people because you don’t think they would be able to handle the fame and the attention as well as they should.

“You can’t turn round and say you don’t think she’s going to handle it that well so we won’t have her on the show.”

Dec said that Boyle appeared on the show “to fulfil a dream. How do you say you can’t go on?”