That's a good excuse! Never heard it before! Someone tell Mischa Barton to write that one down.

A member of the pop Brit band Sugababes, Amelle Berrabah, was admitted to a private health clinic yesterday, suffering "from a severe bout of nervous exhaustion". The stress of having a new girl has finally caught up with her!

No, really! That is the excuse they are giving on the group's website. The other two girls,Heidi Range and Jade Ewen, released this statement:

"It seems that with all the recent events in the band right up to Jade joining us a few weeks ago, the stress over a period of months has unfortunately taken its toll on Amelle and she is now suffering from a severe bout of nervous exhaustion.

For the next three weeks, Amelle will be staying at a private health clinic in Europe where she will be able to rest and recuperate under expert supervision.

Although we know this news all comes as a huge disappointment to Sugababes fans, we really do have to treat Amelle's welfare as our priority at times like this."

Amelle's "short break" will mean the group cancelling their first live performance together since the exit of Keisha Buchanan. This may also be the reason why the girls pulled out of headlining the Scottish Royal Variety Performance last week, though they originally stated it was due to "a number of legal issues to be finalised".

Well, we wish Amelle the best and hope this rest put her back to normal.

Girl bands are just such a stressful business! Much more so than those nonchalant boy bands! They have it so easy!

[Image via WENN.]