Abdul stalker concerns 'ignored'

Abdul has worked as a judge on the show since 2002

American Idol judge Paula Abdul has said that her concerns over a stalker's appearance on the TV show were ignored.

Abdul told Barbara Walters' US radio show that she had asked producers not to allow Paula Goodspeed to audition because she was an obsessive fan.

But they had allowed it because "it would make good television", she added. Producers have refused to comment.

Ms Goodspeed was found dead last month in a car near Abdul's Los Angeles home after apparently taking an overdose.

'Entertainment value'

Pictures and CDs of the singer were also found in the 30-year-old's vehicle.

Abdul said that she was "shocked and saddened" by the incident.

She said that Ms Goodspeed had written her "disturbing" letters for 18 years, and had followed her home after an audition for the fifth series of American Idol.

Ms Goodspeed sang the Tina Turner hit Proud Mary in her 2005 audition

Abdul said producers and the Fox network had ignored her concerns and allowed Ms Goodspeed to appear on the programme because of its potential "entertainment value".

When asked by Walters why she continued to appear on a show that put her in potential danger, Adbul replied: "I'm under contract."

Ms Goodspeed failed to win through her audition after receiving poor reviews from Abdul and fellow American Idol judges, Randy Jackson and Simon Cowell.

She told the show's host, Ryan Seacrest, that she was a huge fan of Abdul and had created life-size paintings of the singer.

She also called Abdul "beautiful" after Cowell said he noticed a resemblance between his fellow judge and Goodspeed.