Dr. Phil is sorry. The TV physician has issued a statement apologizing for his controversial visit with Britney Spears while the singer was in the hospital on January 5, as well as a subsequent press release he issued about the incident.

"Was it helpful to the situation? Regrettably, no. It was not, and I have to acknowledge that, and I do," Phil McGraw told his audience Thursday during an episode of Dr. Phil that will run Monday, according to USA Today. "I definitely think if I had it to do over again, I probably wouldn't make any statement at all. Period."

McGraw said he issued an earlier statement about the visit to Entertainment Tonight because he knew the media would see him arriving at the hospital, and disputed criticism that he inappropriately discussed the troubled singer's condition in the release, in which he referred to her as being in "dire need of both medical and psychological intervention." Phil explained in the new statement that he "said that before I ever met her." Asked if he would make a similar visit at the request of concerned parents in the future, he said, "How do you not?"

A complaint was filed against McGraw earlier this week that accused him of violating the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. The complaint alleges Dr. Phil practiced clinical psychology without a license and further violated doctor-patient privilege by discussing the pop star's case with the media. Although the California Board of Psychology is compelled to investigate all complaints, this one might not have much ground: According to state regulators, McGraw would have had to practice psychology in the legal sense, which is clearly defined in Section 2903 of the California Business and Professions Code, and he has stressed that he visited Spears as a family friend.
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Britney Spears has blasted reports she is pregnant with her third child - insisting she was shopping for a pregnancy test on behalf of a friend.

The troubled star was spotted browsing for home pregnancy testing kits in a Los Angeles pharmacy earlier this week, accompanied by her paparazzo boyfriend Adnan Ghalib.

But the Toxic hitmaker dispelled the rumours herself, telling MTV.com: "I never had a pregnancy test. It was for my friend."

The singer, who already has two sons with ex-husband Kevin Federline, was previously forced to deny reports she was expecting producer Jonathan 'JR' Rotem's baby in November, after an apparent confession appeared on a private MySpace page, allegedly belonging to the star.
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A top US psychologist has declared Britney Spears will be dead in six months if she doesn't get the treatment she needs for a chronic mood disorder cyclothymia.

Dr. Lillian Glass has gone public with her diagnosis in the hope Spears will read her warning comments and seek medical aid.

The renowned Beverly Hills doctor tells America's Globe: "Unless Britney is locked away or put into a treatment program, she is going to die in six months - or even sooner.

In my opinion, she suffers from cyclothymia, a chronic mood disorder in which short periods of mild depression are followed by short periods of hypomania.

That explains why one minute she can appear perfectly sane and the next she's exhibiting totally crazy behaviour."

Dr. Glass tells the publication: "She's definitely a candidate for suicide if she isn't treated immediately."

The diagnosis goes some way to explain why Spears suffered an apparent meltdown at her home on January 4, when she locked herself and her baby son in a bathroom at the end of a visitation term and refused to come out for three hours.

The pop star was committed to hospital for a psychological evaluation after the stand-off with police and paramedics.

Spears' erratic behaviour continued this week when she fled a Los Angeles courthouse after refusing to testify in a crucial custody hearing.

As a result, she lost visitation rights to her two young sons until the next hearing on February 19.
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