0:00:02 > 0:00:03- SIMON COWELL: - What's your name, darling?
0:00:05 > 0:00:08OK, and who would you like to be as successful as?
0:00:08 > 0:00:13On Saturday the 11th of April 2009, something unforgettable
0:00:13 > 0:00:15happened here on this stage in Glasgow.
0:00:16 > 0:00:19An eccentric, middle-aged, unemployed woman who lived
0:00:19 > 0:00:22alone with her cat marched on the stage.
0:00:24 > 0:00:26The audience started to snigger.
0:00:26 > 0:00:27And then she started to sing.
0:00:27 > 0:00:33# I dreamed a dream in time gone by... #
0:00:33 > 0:00:38The phrase "overnight star" is often used to describe someone's path to fame and fortune.
0:00:38 > 0:00:42You didn't expect that, did you? Did you? No!
0:00:42 > 0:00:46But there could be no better description to describe the journey of Susan Boyle.
0:00:49 > 0:00:53The day after her Britain's Got Talent audition, Susan Boyle
0:00:53 > 0:00:55achieved national fame.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58Within a week, she'd achieved international fame.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01About 100 million people watched her audition on YouTube.
0:01:01 > 0:01:06# When dreams were made and used and wasted... #
0:01:06 > 0:01:12If you were going to draw up a blueprint for a pop star,
0:01:12 > 0:01:16a middle-aged woman from a mining village in central Scotland
0:01:16 > 0:01:19would not be what you would draw up.
0:01:22 > 0:01:26But by the time Susan had reached the final of Britain's Got Talent,
0:01:26 > 0:01:29the country's mood towards her had shifted.
0:01:29 > 0:01:33The paparazzi were hounding her. There were press reports
0:01:33 > 0:01:34of foul-mouthed outbursts.
0:01:34 > 0:01:39The pressure was all too much and she had a very public breakdown.
0:01:42 > 0:01:46Well, I wasn't aware that I had reached that point.
0:01:46 > 0:01:50I just knew that I wasn't sleeping very well and I wasn't eating very well.
0:01:50 > 0:01:54So there was a week I was really going about in a kind of trance, if you like.
0:01:54 > 0:01:58# And still I dream he'll come to me... #
0:01:59 > 0:02:01After a of period recuperating,
0:02:01 > 0:02:06Susan returned to the place she was born and raised - Blackburn, West Lothian.
0:02:07 > 0:02:10And it's this community of friends, family
0:02:10 > 0:02:14and especially her church, that enabled Susan to bounce back.
0:02:14 > 0:02:17And boy, did Susan Boyle bounce back!
0:02:20 > 0:02:25Her first album became the world's most successful in 2009.
0:02:25 > 0:02:28The next three also topped the charts.
0:02:28 > 0:02:33She's duetted with Elaine Paige, Donny Osmond, Placido Domingo
0:02:33 > 0:02:35and even sang for the Pope.
0:02:35 > 0:02:40Yet throughout Susan has kept her feet on the ground.
0:02:40 > 0:02:47- # Now life has killed the dream I dreamed.- #
0:02:47 > 0:02:50I think what makes Susan Boyle special, apart from that
0:02:50 > 0:02:52remarkable voice, is her persona.
0:02:52 > 0:02:57She is a very gentle person and I think the general public
0:02:57 > 0:02:59thinks she is one of us, which she is.
0:03:00 > 0:03:04As Susan herself admits, she has had her difficulties
0:03:04 > 0:03:08with life, with friends, with society.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11I've come to the beautiful Stobo Castle to meet Susan
0:03:11 > 0:03:14and ask her how her faith has kept her motivated
0:03:14 > 0:03:19and enabled her and supported her through the difficult hand that life has thrown at her.
0:03:32 > 0:03:34- Thank you very much.- Not a problem.
0:03:34 > 0:03:36- How are you?- Very well, thank you. - Good.
0:03:36 > 0:03:38- Had a good day so far? - It's been a brilliant day.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41This is really lovely to meet you, Susan.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44I've been looking forward to this very much indeed.
0:03:44 > 0:03:50Your family life at home sounds so loving and busy and big,
0:03:50 > 0:03:55and you were very kind to let us into your house to let us have a look at it.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58And you were... How many children were there?
0:03:58 > 0:04:01- Well, I'm one of nine. - One of nine.
0:04:01 > 0:04:02There was no television!
0:04:02 > 0:04:04BOTH LAUGH
0:04:18 > 0:04:21Susan's journey began in Blackburn,
0:04:21 > 0:04:26a former mining village, halfway between Edinburgh and Glasgow.
0:04:26 > 0:04:30Her brothers and sisters were born in the 1950s and by the time
0:04:30 > 0:04:35Susan arrived in '61, the council house her big Catholic family
0:04:35 > 0:04:38lived in was already bursting at the seams.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43This used to be the lassies' room.
0:04:43 > 0:04:47There was a big bed in the corner. There was a dressing table.
0:04:48 > 0:04:50And we all used to get ready in here.
0:04:52 > 0:04:57The three girls - there was Bridie, Mary and Kathleen.
0:04:57 > 0:04:59We all slept in here.
0:04:59 > 0:05:01This used to be known as my mum and dad's room.
0:05:03 > 0:05:05The bed was over there.
0:05:05 > 0:05:08They had a wee Z-bed beside them. Guess who was in the Z-bed? Me!
0:05:10 > 0:05:13They had the wardrobe there and everything. I remember it.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17Mm-hm. So that's where it used to be - in here.
0:05:19 > 0:05:24And my room now used to be the laddies' room.
0:05:26 > 0:05:28That's Joe, John, James and Gerry.
0:05:28 > 0:05:30Used to be all in here.
0:05:31 > 0:05:34So you can imagine what it would be like with four men in here!
0:05:34 > 0:05:35But never mind!
0:05:35 > 0:05:39# Just walking in the rain
0:05:41 > 0:05:44# Getting soaking wet... #
0:05:45 > 0:05:49Typical for a community at that time, alongside the pits,
0:05:49 > 0:05:53the pubs, the social clubs and the big housing estates, was church.
0:05:56 > 0:06:00And in the Catholic tradition, a devotion to mother of God -
0:06:00 > 0:06:03the Virgin Mary, known as Our Lady.
0:06:04 > 0:06:08And church and religion was always a big part of the household?
0:06:08 > 0:06:09It was, yeah, it was.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12As people know, we're Roman Catholic and there's a very...
0:06:12 > 0:06:15It's a very important part of my upbringing...
0:06:15 > 0:06:18Indeed it's the backbone of my life.
0:06:18 > 0:06:19Yes, exactly.
0:06:19 > 0:06:23Do you remember the first time that you understood that
0:06:23 > 0:06:29this was church and you were learning about Our Lady and Jesus and God?
0:06:29 > 0:06:35I remember being four years old, and maybe younger, and going to Mass with my dad.
0:06:35 > 0:06:37And he had to get in, into some kind of procession.
0:06:37 > 0:06:40I can't remember the exact time of the year it was, but I remember
0:06:40 > 0:06:42screaming the place down cos he'd left my side.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45And when, and your mother...
0:06:45 > 0:06:51I think it was your mother who gave you a really strong faith in Our Lady?
0:06:51 > 0:06:53- She did, yes. - Yes, what did she tell you?
0:06:54 > 0:06:59She told me to always trust in Our Lady and to always trust in God
0:06:59 > 0:07:04because he has a special plan for you...
0:07:04 > 0:07:07and he'll see you right.
0:07:14 > 0:07:19Frank Quinn has known Susan for years and taught her at college.
0:07:19 > 0:07:23He is not only a close friend but, as a devout Catholic himself,
0:07:23 > 0:07:27has guided Susan on her spiritual journey.
0:07:27 > 0:07:32He's seen first-hand Susan's devotion to her faith and the Virgin Mary.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39Susan's faith is like a beacon to her, you know?
0:07:39 > 0:07:42It, it gives her light on her journey.
0:07:42 > 0:07:47Her prayer, her prayer is very important to her -
0:07:47 > 0:07:50she prays devoutly to Our Lady.
0:07:50 > 0:07:54She sees Our Lady as being the mother of God.
0:07:54 > 0:08:01# How great Thou art
0:08:01 > 0:08:07# How great Thou art. #
0:08:07 > 0:08:11Across the road from the church Susan attended every Sunday
0:08:11 > 0:08:14was the local Catholic primary school.
0:08:14 > 0:08:17But from the start she found studying difficult.
0:08:20 > 0:08:23I knew I was very slow at school, and I knew I couldn't pick up
0:08:23 > 0:08:25things the way I should have.
0:08:25 > 0:08:28I was always aware that I was never going to be an academic
0:08:28 > 0:08:32and there were some people in my class who were very intelligent
0:08:32 > 0:08:35and who tended to get all the attention.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38And I was sort of left behind.
0:08:38 > 0:08:42I think you find that in most schools, though -
0:08:42 > 0:08:43I'm just speaking generally here.
0:08:43 > 0:08:49And when you... I read in your book that you said that you knew...
0:08:49 > 0:08:52You understood the question and you knew the answer,
0:08:52 > 0:08:54but it was trying to get it all together and be able
0:08:54 > 0:08:57to say it in time before everyone else had moved on.
0:08:57 > 0:09:00That's right. There was a kind of lack of co-ordination, if you like.
0:09:00 > 0:09:03I knew what I wanted to say, but it wouldn't come out.
0:09:03 > 0:09:04I found that very frustrating.
0:09:04 > 0:09:11Yeah, yeah. And singing was always there when you were a little girl at the little school.
0:09:12 > 0:09:17And it was the headmaster who had a singing competition one week, didn't he?
0:09:17 > 0:09:19It was a Burns Competition, yeah.
0:09:19 > 0:09:21And I sang Ye Banks And Braes.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24I never really got very far in the competition
0:09:24 > 0:09:26but I really enjoyed what I was doing,
0:09:26 > 0:09:28and I did a section of poetry as well.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31- There you are. OK?- Hiya.
0:09:32 > 0:09:37Lorraine Campbell runs a pub in Bathgate, near to where Susan lives.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40She's a close friend of Susan's but was also at school with her
0:09:40 > 0:09:43and can recall her difficulties fitting in.
0:09:43 > 0:09:48You always knew, you know, Susan was on her own - just watching.
0:09:48 > 0:09:50If she did engage in any fun or games, you know,
0:09:50 > 0:09:55a big issue always in Susan's life was the bullying side -
0:09:55 > 0:09:57folk making fun of her, you know?
0:09:57 > 0:10:02Just because she was that bit different from everybody else.
0:10:02 > 0:10:04But when she started singing -
0:10:04 > 0:10:08at the age of nine, it would be at school -
0:10:08 > 0:10:12and that was the first time I realised Susan Boyle
0:10:12 > 0:10:13had a voice, and a beautiful voice.
0:10:27 > 0:10:32This ability of Susan's to connect to people through her singing
0:10:32 > 0:10:35would only be realised later in life.
0:10:35 > 0:10:39But first she had to endure the difficulties of being a loner
0:10:39 > 0:10:41at secondary school.
0:10:43 > 0:10:48I got bullied a lot at school as well and that sort of held me back in some ways, you know?
0:10:48 > 0:10:52There's one day I think they sort of chased you home from school, didn't they?
0:10:52 > 0:10:54Well, they chased me home from school.
0:10:54 > 0:10:58I remember this clearly, actually. And I got to my gate,
0:10:58 > 0:11:00and of course they'd no way...
0:11:00 > 0:11:02I mean, I just made a hell of a lot of noise.
0:11:02 > 0:11:04Of course, my mum came out to see what was wrong.
0:11:04 > 0:11:07Saw them, saw what was happening and just brought me into the house.
0:11:11 > 0:11:15Sadly, on leaving school, things didn't get any better for Susan.
0:11:16 > 0:11:21After briefly landing a job as a kitchen assistant in a local college, she was made redundant.
0:11:23 > 0:11:27But of course, that's another knock, isn't it, to confidence,
0:11:27 > 0:11:32and you have written very movingly about a depression that crept on you.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35People do get depressed at some stage in their life.
0:11:35 > 0:11:40I felt as if I was going into a very dark tunnel and I couldn't get out of it.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43But there was some light at the end of it, but I didn't know where
0:11:43 > 0:11:45that light was and I was kind of searching most of my life.
0:11:48 > 0:11:50Did you find joy in anything during that period?
0:11:50 > 0:11:53It was a very long period of depression.
0:11:53 > 0:11:57And there were times I was OK and times I wasn't OK.
0:11:59 > 0:12:01- You do get that.- Absolutely.
0:12:01 > 0:12:05Could you take joy in holidays, in being with your family?
0:12:06 > 0:12:11Well, sometimes I felt OK. Sometimes I didn't feel OK.
0:12:11 > 0:12:14But the times I did feel OK made up for it,
0:12:14 > 0:12:18because it's important to have your family and friends around you.
0:12:18 > 0:12:21It was very important then also to have my faith as well.
0:12:21 > 0:12:25So let's go from the beginning of the last section.
0:12:30 > 0:12:34Back in the '90s, Susan, unemployed and depressed,
0:12:34 > 0:12:39decided to throw herself into what made her happy - singing.
0:12:39 > 0:12:41First step - lessons.
0:12:41 > 0:12:46Fred O'Neil, who lived locally, was her first vocal coach.
0:12:48 > 0:12:50It was a November afternoon.
0:12:50 > 0:12:52She'd made an appointment a week before.
0:12:52 > 0:12:59It was a really rainy day, and she arrived in a yellow raincoat,
0:12:59 > 0:13:02with a plastic kind of cover thing,
0:13:02 > 0:13:06you know these plastic covery things, and kind of all dripping.
0:13:06 > 0:13:13And arrived and was full of enthusiasm and we got on really well from the beginning.
0:13:18 > 0:13:22From the start, Fred noticed something quite special about this new pupil of his.
0:13:25 > 0:13:32With Susan, what people hear is that, between Susan's emotion
0:13:32 > 0:13:35and her voice, there isn't a block -
0:13:35 > 0:13:39her emotions and her singing are one.
0:13:39 > 0:13:42She thinks of an emotion, or summons up an emotion - she sings,
0:13:42 > 0:13:46and it's reflected somewhere in her voice, in her tone.
0:13:49 > 0:13:52# Don't let the stars get in your eyes... #
0:13:52 > 0:13:56Amongst the Scottish working classes, there was always a great tradition of the sing-song.
0:13:56 > 0:14:02# Love blooms at night In daylight it dies... #
0:14:02 > 0:14:04In the homes and the pubs.
0:14:04 > 0:14:09And even by the '90s, it wasn't difficult for Susan to find somewhere to perform.
0:14:09 > 0:14:12# ..it was all so simple then
0:14:15 > 0:14:20# Or has time rewritten every line? #
0:14:22 > 0:14:26So you would turn up at the pubs and the clubs where they had
0:14:26 > 0:14:30singing competitions or open mic or whatever it's called nowadays...
0:14:30 > 0:14:35And how did you get the confidence together to think, right,
0:14:35 > 0:14:38I'm going to sit here quietly, listen to what's going on
0:14:38 > 0:14:41and then it's going to be my turn - I'm going to get up and sing?
0:14:41 > 0:14:43It took...took a bit of time.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46It was...as I said before, I was very shy at the time,
0:14:46 > 0:14:53but the compere at the time, a Mr Murphy, you know, he used to compere
0:14:53 > 0:14:55the sing-songs in Blackburn,
0:14:55 > 0:14:58and that was very much part of the community then,
0:14:58 > 0:15:01that you went to that sing-song on the Thursday anyway.
0:15:01 > 0:15:03And it was a good night out.
0:15:03 > 0:15:04Everybody took part in it
0:15:04 > 0:15:09and he noticed one night that I was a bit shy and, um, he just got me up to sing.
0:15:11 > 0:15:14And before you sang, what was the reaction of the audience
0:15:14 > 0:15:17as you walked towards the microphone?
0:15:17 > 0:15:19Well, I couldn't really gauge it then,
0:15:19 > 0:15:22but I went up to sing...
0:15:22 > 0:15:28and their reaction was, "You can do it!"
0:15:28 > 0:15:32You know? There was a lot of clapping going on.
0:15:32 > 0:15:33I says, "Hmm, made a bit of an impact here.
0:15:33 > 0:15:36"I'm not coming back here in a hurry!" You know?
0:15:38 > 0:15:40Blanket over head job, you know?
0:15:48 > 0:15:52Actress Elaine C Smith, herself an accomplished singer,
0:15:52 > 0:15:55played the role of Susan Boyle in the musical of her life.
0:15:57 > 0:16:01Usually in singers, there's just one or two notes that break your heart,
0:16:01 > 0:16:06and Susan's got a bit of...
0:16:06 > 0:16:08She has got that in her voice.
0:16:08 > 0:16:12She'll hit a certain note and you'll sit and listen to it,
0:16:12 > 0:16:15going, "Oh, that's very nice, la la la" and then you know - Wild Horses.
0:16:15 > 0:16:20And there's a couple of notes in there that break your heart,
0:16:20 > 0:16:22and that's what a true artist does.
0:16:22 > 0:16:25And that's about connecting and the desire to connect.
0:16:25 > 0:16:28There's lots of artists out there who just want to show off,
0:16:28 > 0:16:31and go, "Hey, look what I can do - I'm brilliant at that"
0:16:31 > 0:16:32and you go, "Yes, how marvellous".
0:16:32 > 0:16:36But there are other ones that make you go (GASPS) and Susan's got that in her voice.
0:16:36 > 0:16:43# Wild horses
0:16:44 > 0:16:48# Couldn't drag me away
0:16:53 > 0:16:59# Wild horses... #
0:16:59 > 0:17:02Susan's musical ability was no accident of birth.
0:17:02 > 0:17:06There was always music in the Boyle household
0:17:06 > 0:17:07and as a miner in the '50s,
0:17:07 > 0:17:11Susan's dad Patrick was famous for his tenor voice.
0:17:11 > 0:17:15She can recall her dad belting out popular songs like Scarlet Ribbons.
0:17:15 > 0:17:21# And I heard my child in prayer
0:17:23 > 0:17:29# Send for me some scarlet ribbons... #
0:17:30 > 0:17:36So when the strong man in her life became ill, it came as a huge shock.
0:17:37 > 0:17:41My dad had been deteriorating for some time
0:17:41 > 0:17:43and he went into hospital.
0:17:45 > 0:17:48I saw him just before he...before he passed away
0:17:48 > 0:17:51and said my goodbyes to him and all that, cos you do that.
0:17:51 > 0:17:55But it's the first time I actually encountered somebody who...who died.
0:17:55 > 0:17:59And I found that hard to get my head round.
0:18:00 > 0:18:01In what way?
0:18:03 > 0:18:06Well, it was a new area, but a very frightening area for me.
0:18:08 > 0:18:09You know.
0:18:09 > 0:18:12What helped you during that time?
0:18:15 > 0:18:17The fact that my mother was still there.
0:18:17 > 0:18:20But I didn't fully understand what she was going through.
0:18:21 > 0:18:26- No.- The loneliness she was experiencing and stuff like that.
0:18:30 > 0:18:33I'm beginning to understand it a bit better now.
0:18:34 > 0:18:36Because I'm older now, a bit more mature.
0:18:37 > 0:18:40But I didn't have the maturity to understand the situation at the time.
0:18:40 > 0:18:47# In our town no scarlet ribbons... #
0:18:49 > 0:18:51The setbacks didn't stop there.
0:18:51 > 0:18:55Soon after the death of her father, Susan's sister Kathleen,
0:18:55 > 0:18:59who she was close to, died of an asthma attack.
0:18:59 > 0:19:01Then her mother became ill.
0:19:01 > 0:19:04And it fell to Susan to be the carer.
0:19:04 > 0:19:10# ..my heart was aching... #
0:19:10 > 0:19:14Well, when you're looking after somebody,
0:19:14 > 0:19:17there is a small amount of resentment,
0:19:17 > 0:19:21because you feel as if all responsibility is on your shoulders
0:19:21 > 0:19:23and you can't cope with it.
0:19:24 > 0:19:26But then that resentment can turn to love.
0:19:28 > 0:19:30It did with me, you know.
0:19:30 > 0:19:33I'd be telling a lie to say, "Oh, I was completely loving."
0:19:33 > 0:19:35There was a wee bit of resentment because I couldn't do
0:19:35 > 0:19:38what other people my age did and I couldn't go out a bit more.
0:19:46 > 0:19:50Isolated in the home with her frail mother,
0:19:50 > 0:19:52Susan needed direction in life.
0:19:52 > 0:19:54From a young age,
0:19:54 > 0:19:57Susan found comfort from pilgrimage to Catholic shrines.
0:19:57 > 0:20:01So Susan decided to pay a visit the French town, Lourdes.
0:20:01 > 0:20:05Here it's said apparitions of the Virgin Mary
0:20:05 > 0:20:07appeared in the 19th century.
0:20:07 > 0:20:09Now it's a place where people go
0:20:09 > 0:20:14to strengthen their faith or pray for a cure for their illness.
0:20:18 > 0:20:20And when you went to Lourdes, what did you feel?
0:20:20 > 0:20:23I felt a great sense of peace...
0:20:23 > 0:20:29A sense of being able to communicate my own personal thoughts.
0:20:31 > 0:20:34And, er, there was a detachment, if you like,
0:20:34 > 0:20:37from the worries of the outside world.
0:20:39 > 0:20:41That's powerful too, isn't it?
0:20:43 > 0:20:44Well, sometimes you need that.
0:20:44 > 0:20:48You need that kind of detachment, if you like, if you want to, er...
0:20:48 > 0:20:52How can I best put this?
0:20:54 > 0:20:56If you want to focus more on what's really bothering you.
0:20:56 > 0:20:59You need that kind of reflection, if you like,
0:20:59 > 0:21:04that reflection to really...make a difference to yourself.
0:21:04 > 0:21:07And what was it that you needed to focus on?
0:21:08 > 0:21:11I didn't know what direction my life was going.
0:21:11 > 0:21:13I didn't know...
0:21:13 > 0:21:18Really, what I wanted, you know, so I thought...really, leave it
0:21:18 > 0:21:23to a higher authority and let Him sort out my life for me.
0:21:23 > 0:21:27So that visit to Lourdes - when you came home, did life change?
0:21:27 > 0:21:29Was there a miracle?
0:21:32 > 0:21:34I wouldn't say it was a miracle in a way,
0:21:34 > 0:21:36but I began to do things on my own more.
0:21:43 > 0:21:47This is Susan last year collecting an honorary degree
0:21:47 > 0:21:49from Queen Margaret University.
0:21:49 > 0:21:55It was in recognition of a course in caring she started after her visit to Lourdes years before.
0:21:55 > 0:22:00All part of an effort to be more independent and get her life back on track.
0:22:02 > 0:22:03Just hold it right up in the air for us.
0:22:03 > 0:22:05Hold it right up.
0:22:05 > 0:22:11When I looked at Susan, she had a capacity about her,
0:22:11 > 0:22:15and having worked with students for many years, you can pick that up -
0:22:15 > 0:22:18it's an intuitive thing that tutors have,
0:22:18 > 0:22:22and I knew that Susan had a capacity to succeed.
0:22:23 > 0:22:25She wasn't sure whether she did or not,
0:22:25 > 0:22:29but I was confident that she had a capacity to actually succeed.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37But as Susan was learning how to care for her mum,
0:22:37 > 0:22:40her mother's health continued to deteriorate.
0:22:43 > 0:22:47I remember her saying to me, and she was pretty low at this time...
0:22:48 > 0:22:50"Susan, I'm not going to live very long.
0:22:50 > 0:22:53"Look after my house and look after my cat."
0:22:54 > 0:22:59And she says something else as well, "Remember you're mine."
0:22:59 > 0:23:00And I said, "OK."
0:23:02 > 0:23:05I can talk about it now. Couldn't at the time
0:23:05 > 0:23:07because I would always burst into tears,
0:23:07 > 0:23:09but you get strength from somewhere.
0:23:11 > 0:23:16And after my mother's death, I got strength from the Legion of Mary.
0:23:17 > 0:23:18I joined the Legion of Mary.
0:23:22 > 0:23:23Those who join the Legion of Mary
0:23:23 > 0:23:26devote themselves to the duties of their local church,
0:23:26 > 0:23:31such as evangelising and caring for the vulnerable, old and sick.
0:23:31 > 0:23:34As self-sacrificing as this work was,
0:23:34 > 0:23:37it didn't sustain Susan and she struggled to cope.
0:23:40 > 0:23:42I was down to six and a half stone.
0:23:42 > 0:23:46The house was in an absolute mess, I was in a mess.
0:23:51 > 0:23:52I think...yeah...
0:23:52 > 0:23:55I was in a mess. Had social services in.
0:23:56 > 0:23:58Because you couldn't look after yourself?
0:23:58 > 0:24:01I had such a shock at my mother dying,
0:24:01 > 0:24:03so I had that for about two years.
0:24:03 > 0:24:06Oh, Susan was very low.
0:24:06 > 0:24:09She was unhappy, you know,
0:24:09 > 0:24:12for about seven months, you know.
0:24:12 > 0:24:15You couldn't really talk to Susan, engage in conversation,
0:24:15 > 0:24:18cos her social's going to church, going to the local shops,
0:24:18 > 0:24:22and just having a wee talk with folk in the street when she's going by,
0:24:22 > 0:24:24and that wasn't happening.
0:24:24 > 0:24:27And then she kind of thought, I'm sitting here doing nothing.
0:24:27 > 0:24:32She had a purpose and she always wanted to make her mum proud, and her family.
0:24:32 > 0:24:35And then, just when you, you thought things couldn't...
0:24:36 > 0:24:40Maybe can improve a bit, I said, well, there's only one thing you could do,
0:24:40 > 0:24:45if you can't have anything else - you could try your hand at singing.
0:24:47 > 0:24:50And I hadn't sung for quite some time because of the death of my mother.
0:24:50 > 0:24:54So I applied for various auditions and the one I did apply for
0:24:54 > 0:24:59was Britain's Got Talent but I never really thought I'd get through.
0:24:59 > 0:25:01I just put the form in anyway.
0:25:01 > 0:25:05And er...I got, I got through
0:25:05 > 0:25:08and then I get a phone call to meet the panel.
0:25:09 > 0:25:12So I says, in a way, my mother must have wanted me to do this.
0:25:14 > 0:25:18Susan's got a determination in her. Although she can be quite shy
0:25:18 > 0:25:21and fragile and, you know, quite vulnerable,
0:25:21 > 0:25:24if she wants to do something,
0:25:24 > 0:25:27she's determined, stubborn and she'll do what she wants to do.
0:25:27 > 0:25:31She got up that day and she wanted to go along to that audition.
0:25:31 > 0:25:34That whole day started very, very early in the morning.
0:25:34 > 0:25:36Half past six in the morning.
0:25:36 > 0:25:38Half past six in the morning.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41You were recovering from the death of your mother.
0:25:41 > 0:25:43You decided, "I'm going to go and do this".
0:25:43 > 0:25:48So you had no-one at home to say, "Hmm, Susan, I don't think the white shoes are right"?
0:25:49 > 0:25:53I just stuck anything on me, you know?
0:25:53 > 0:25:56Hopped on the bus. It was the wrong bus.
0:25:56 > 0:26:01The wrong bus. I could see the place but I couldn't get to the damn place. Excuse me!
0:26:02 > 0:26:04Got another bus. Got there.
0:26:04 > 0:26:07That's right. I was supposed to be there at half past nine.
0:26:07 > 0:26:10I arrived maybe a couple of minutes late, and they said,
0:26:10 > 0:26:12"You have to wait till the next batch of auditions."
0:26:13 > 0:26:17So I said, "I'm not going back home all this distance,
0:26:17 > 0:26:18"having come this far",
0:26:18 > 0:26:21so I just decided...well, they decided to put me into the holding room.
0:26:22 > 0:26:29Susan performed her audition at the Glasgow's SECC auditorium in January 2009.
0:26:29 > 0:26:32- What's your name, darling? - My name is Susan Boyle.
0:26:32 > 0:26:38You sang so beautifully for that audition and when you saw...
0:26:38 > 0:26:43Did you feel the audience's atmosphere change?
0:26:43 > 0:26:46- I felt...I felt they were listening to me.- Yeah.
0:26:46 > 0:26:49I could also sense that my dad was there as well.
0:26:49 > 0:26:51- Could you?- Mm-hm.
0:26:51 > 0:26:55# Then I was young and unafraid... #
0:26:55 > 0:26:57- Around you? Next to you? - Probably next to me.
0:26:57 > 0:27:02# And dreams were made and used and wasted... #
0:27:02 > 0:27:07So you could feel that and sing so beautifully all at the same time?
0:27:07 > 0:27:08Maybe it was him that had helped me.
0:27:08 > 0:27:11SHE HOLDS NOTE
0:27:16 > 0:27:18RAPTUROUS APPLAUSE
0:27:18 > 0:27:21Look at that!
0:27:23 > 0:27:25Other than the audience,
0:27:25 > 0:27:28nobody knew how well Susan's audition really went.
0:27:28 > 0:27:32# That we would live the years together... #
0:27:32 > 0:27:35Had you told anyone at home that you were doing this?
0:27:36 > 0:27:38I think I told the half the... half the people in Blackburn.
0:27:38 > 0:27:42# And there are storms we cannot weather... #
0:27:44 > 0:27:47But they used to go, "That's just Susan talking.
0:27:47 > 0:27:49"Just leave her. Just leave her alone."
0:27:49 > 0:27:51Really? Just thought you'd made it up?
0:27:56 > 0:27:58So I got the application form at that time
0:27:58 > 0:28:01and I showed it to somebody and they went,
0:28:01 > 0:28:04"You didn't do that. I bet you never even went."
0:28:04 > 0:28:06I says, "I did. I'm just back."
0:28:08 > 0:28:15# Now life has killed the dream I dreamed. #
0:28:19 > 0:28:21The minute her audition was broadcast,
0:28:21 > 0:28:23there was a knock at the door.
0:28:24 > 0:28:27So I goes to answer the door and these screaming kids...
0:28:27 > 0:28:32Everybody was sort of, well... Every house was lit up and every door was open
0:28:32 > 0:28:35and I was, "Oh, my God!"
0:28:35 > 0:28:36You know?
0:28:36 > 0:28:38That's when it started going a bit crazy.
0:28:42 > 0:28:45Within days, Susan was a national phenomenon.
0:28:45 > 0:28:48Within a week, her Britain's Got Talent audition went viral
0:28:48 > 0:28:53around the globe and she achieved international stardom.
0:28:53 > 0:28:57Overnight, the 48-year-old has become a worldwide internet sensation,
0:28:57 > 0:29:01with even Hollywood stars talking about her extraordinary voice.
0:29:07 > 0:29:09I had a student.
0:29:09 > 0:29:13He'd come to me, a young man, and he said,
0:29:13 > 0:29:14"Have you seen the papers?
0:29:14 > 0:29:21"There's a woman in Whitburn they're calling Paula Potts".
0:29:21 > 0:29:23I said, "Oh, that must be Susan",
0:29:23 > 0:29:26because I think they got it wrong in saying Whitburn
0:29:26 > 0:29:32and not Blackburn at that stage, and I just knew it was Susan.
0:29:32 > 0:29:37There just couldn't be two singers in the area
0:29:37 > 0:29:40who would have that reaction. Not at all.
0:29:41 > 0:29:45When the whole explosion of Susan took place, I was in the...
0:29:45 > 0:29:49I was lucky enough to be in the West End, doing Calendar Girls.
0:29:49 > 0:29:51I was in the original cast of that
0:29:51 > 0:29:54and we were the first ones to go in the West End.
0:29:54 > 0:29:59And on the evening of the Britain's Got Talent now mega-event,
0:29:59 > 0:30:03I'd come down after the interval, ready to go on for the second act,
0:30:03 > 0:30:04and they were going, "Oh, Elaine,
0:30:04 > 0:30:06"there's this wee woman from Glasgow.
0:30:06 > 0:30:08"She just went on and she looked terrible,
0:30:08 > 0:30:10"and then she sang and we were crying".
0:30:10 > 0:30:13And we were laughing. They says, "You should see it".
0:30:13 > 0:30:15And I turned to Sian Phillips, who will tell you
0:30:15 > 0:30:16this is the absolute truth,
0:30:16 > 0:30:19and I laughed, and Sian said, "Are you going in to watch it?"
0:30:19 > 0:30:22And I said, "No. I'll end up playing her in the story of her life!"
0:30:25 > 0:30:28But becoming an overnight worldwide celebrity
0:30:28 > 0:30:30comes with its own pressures,
0:30:30 > 0:30:35with red-top tabloids like The Sun demanding scandal about SuBo.
0:30:38 > 0:30:41It was quite hard and difficult to deal with.
0:30:41 > 0:30:45It was just myself and Susan, out of our comfort zone.
0:30:45 > 0:30:49Never experienced anything like this. The only way I could ever say...
0:30:49 > 0:30:52It was like Princess Diana, the way she was chased
0:30:52 > 0:30:55and the way people wanted a piece of her.
0:30:55 > 0:30:57We were staying in London at the time.
0:30:57 > 0:31:00Lorraine and I were at a friend's house and she was up in the shower
0:31:00 > 0:31:03and I sneaked out to get a paper.
0:31:05 > 0:31:07You can't sneak out! You're Susan Boyle.
0:31:07 > 0:31:09You're the woman who's on every page!
0:31:09 > 0:31:13Well, I sneaked out to get a paper that time, purely for recreation.
0:31:13 > 0:31:18And she followed... Lorraine followed me out.
0:31:18 > 0:31:21I thought, "How do I get myself back?"
0:31:21 > 0:31:24We're supposed to going back to the studios later on.
0:31:24 > 0:31:27And I was shaking, you know, cos it was so daunting,
0:31:27 > 0:31:30the whole process of trying to get her from a shop,
0:31:30 > 0:31:32getting her back to the house.
0:31:32 > 0:31:35There must have been hundreds of people round her.
0:31:35 > 0:31:37People were running out of shops,
0:31:37 > 0:31:41cars were stopping in the middle of the street, buses, everything.
0:31:41 > 0:31:44It was...it was bizarre.
0:31:47 > 0:31:50But it wasn't just the press making Susan's life difficult -
0:31:50 > 0:31:53it was her fear of going on stage.
0:31:54 > 0:31:58Yvie Burnett is a vocal coach on many big-branded entertainment shows
0:31:58 > 0:32:03and worked with Susan on Britain's Got Talent, on her albums and on her tour.
0:32:03 > 0:32:06So how's your voice?
0:32:06 > 0:32:08Not bad, but I'm a bit husky.
0:32:08 > 0:32:10It's interesting with Susan,
0:32:10 > 0:32:13because I think she builds up in her head
0:32:13 > 0:32:15a fear of going out on the stage,
0:32:15 > 0:32:17and it's so ironic,
0:32:17 > 0:32:20because when she is out on the stage, she loves it.
0:32:20 > 0:32:23And if she could somehow equate,
0:32:23 > 0:32:26if she would somehow convince herself
0:32:26 > 0:32:29before she goes on that she loves it,
0:32:29 > 0:32:30that would be the key to her nerves.
0:32:30 > 0:32:32She always fears she's going to fail.
0:32:32 > 0:32:34She fears that people won't like her singing any more.
0:32:34 > 0:32:37She's enjoyed so much that people are loving her singing,
0:32:37 > 0:32:41she just wants to hold on to that and have everyone still love it and love it forever.
0:32:45 > 0:32:50Back in 2009, Susan had to perform both the live semifinal
0:32:50 > 0:32:52and the live final in one week.
0:32:52 > 0:32:55This, combined with being on the front page of tabloids
0:32:55 > 0:32:59on daily basis, meant that Susan was becoming ever more anxious.
0:33:05 > 0:33:08Well, I wasn't aware that I had reached that point.
0:33:08 > 0:33:11I just knew that I wasn't sleeping very well
0:33:11 > 0:33:12and I wasn't eating very well.
0:33:12 > 0:33:16So there was a week I was really going about in a kind of trance, if you like.
0:33:18 > 0:33:20You know, I didn't really know what I was doing.
0:33:21 > 0:33:25So by the final, I looked an absolute mess, you know.
0:33:25 > 0:33:27How did you feel inside?
0:33:28 > 0:33:32Inside I felt I really tense...
0:33:32 > 0:33:36- worried...totally exhausted.- Yeah.
0:33:36 > 0:33:38Did you think to yourself,
0:33:38 > 0:33:40"This isn't worth it. I'm going to do a runner"?
0:33:40 > 0:33:42"I'm going home"?
0:33:42 > 0:33:46I'm not a defeatist. I'd see it right through to the end
0:33:46 > 0:33:48and see what the result was.
0:33:48 > 0:33:51It was suddenly like not a little show taking place
0:33:51 > 0:33:54in Wembley any more - it was this international big deal
0:33:54 > 0:33:56that Susan Boyle was in the final
0:33:56 > 0:33:58and I think now we look at it, we think,
0:33:58 > 0:34:03it must have just been so strange for a little lady from Blackburn.
0:34:03 > 0:34:07Just not even in the realms of what she's used to.
0:34:07 > 0:34:11The whole day, you could see her getting more and more worried,
0:34:11 > 0:34:15more and more upset, feeling ill, feeling sick, thinking she
0:34:15 > 0:34:16was going to be sick.
0:34:17 > 0:34:20Not normal nerves, and it was, it was hard.
0:34:21 > 0:34:23In the run-up to her final performance,
0:34:23 > 0:34:28Susan was inconsolable - frightened to set foot on stage.
0:34:28 > 0:34:33In desperation, Frank Quinn was called while on holiday.
0:34:33 > 0:34:38The phone rang and it was Lorraine, her friend, putting Susan on,
0:34:38 > 0:34:43and Susan was indicating to me... And it was one of five phone calls
0:34:43 > 0:34:45that day, leading up,
0:34:45 > 0:34:50to say that she didn't think she had the courage to go out on stage.
0:34:50 > 0:34:55As a friend would do, I focused and refocused Susan
0:34:55 > 0:35:00on the fact, "Susan, you are here - this is what you want to do.
0:35:00 > 0:35:03"Our Lady is on one side of you, your mum is on the other.
0:35:03 > 0:35:08"All you have to do is get out on the stage and sing. I promise you,
0:35:08 > 0:35:12"once you start to sing, you will have them in the palm of your hand".
0:35:13 > 0:35:14Susan Boyle!
0:35:16 > 0:35:21Do you remember anything about leaving your dressing room
0:35:21 > 0:35:25and walking to the stage to give that last performance?
0:35:27 > 0:35:30I knew I was on automatic pilot.
0:35:30 > 0:35:34I can remember some of it. I remember the tension
0:35:34 > 0:35:36when I was performing...
0:35:38 > 0:35:43..and the kind of disappointment...
0:35:46 > 0:35:49..and all the other emotions that goes with it when I came second,
0:35:49 > 0:35:51because I thought everything was over then.
0:35:51 > 0:35:52Really, you thought that was it?
0:35:52 > 0:35:55No-one would ever want to hear from you again?
0:35:55 > 0:35:56That's right, I did think that, yeah.
0:35:56 > 0:35:59Susan never seen what was happening behind the scenes,
0:35:59 > 0:36:03how famous she was, even coming in second, and what was...
0:36:03 > 0:36:06what doors were going to open for her.
0:36:06 > 0:36:08And she was sad, you know?
0:36:08 > 0:36:11It was like she seen it as another failing in her life.
0:36:11 > 0:36:15You know, she always wanted to feel she was part of it.
0:36:15 > 0:36:19Susan still struggles today trying to feel she's accepted.
0:36:19 > 0:36:23It's a word that she always uses - "I just want to feel accepted,
0:36:23 > 0:36:25"like everybody else in society".
0:36:29 > 0:36:31A combination of the intense pressure
0:36:31 > 0:36:36Susan was under, little sleep and an aggressive press exhausted Susan.
0:36:36 > 0:36:42# Now you say you love me... #
0:36:42 > 0:36:43After the result,
0:36:43 > 0:36:47she had a breakdown and agreed to go into the Priory.
0:36:47 > 0:36:50It's not a spa or anything like that, like it is here.
0:36:51 > 0:36:54It's a kind of place people go to recover, if you like.
0:36:56 > 0:36:58You know. I really shouldn't have been there at the time.
0:36:58 > 0:37:00I should've been up the road, home.
0:37:04 > 0:37:07Susan's stay in the Priory was her rock bottom -
0:37:07 > 0:37:10all conducted in the full glare of the world's media.
0:37:14 > 0:37:18But after a few days she was finally allowed to return to Scotland.
0:37:22 > 0:37:24As the place where Susan was born and raised,
0:37:24 > 0:37:26Blackburn means a lot to Susan Boyle.
0:37:26 > 0:37:30# Well, you can cry me a river... #
0:37:30 > 0:37:34So much so that despite having a big new house built in the village,
0:37:34 > 0:37:37she chooses to still live in the ex-council house
0:37:37 > 0:37:38she was brought up in.
0:37:41 > 0:37:46And despite having millions in the bank, she still chooses to catch the bus to the shops.
0:37:50 > 0:37:55Everybody knows Susan and Susan knows many people in her town.
0:37:57 > 0:38:00And the locals are fiercely proud of her.
0:38:01 > 0:38:06She can sing and I'm glad it turned out how it did for her.
0:38:06 > 0:38:09I think she's fantastic. Should have happened years ago.
0:38:11 > 0:38:13She's always been a good singer.
0:38:13 > 0:38:16I've seen her singing in local clubs for years.
0:38:18 > 0:38:19She's a fantastic singer.
0:38:19 > 0:38:21She's done well.
0:38:21 > 0:38:24And I'm pleased for her, ken what I mean?
0:38:24 > 0:38:26And she deserved it.
0:38:26 > 0:38:28Her geographical community
0:38:28 > 0:38:32is extremely important to Susan, you know?
0:38:32 > 0:38:33The whole area of Blackburn.
0:38:33 > 0:38:35She wants to stay there,
0:38:35 > 0:38:38because she's on first-name terms with her neighbours.
0:38:38 > 0:38:40Everyone knows Susan.
0:38:40 > 0:38:42How are you? You doing good, yeah?
0:38:42 > 0:38:45- Very well. You're looking very nice, by the way.- Thank you.
0:38:45 > 0:38:47- You take care, Susan.- OK, no problem.
0:38:47 > 0:38:54Community is essential for Susan being happy and being joyful
0:38:54 > 0:38:58and being able to give and to be able to receive. You know?
0:38:58 > 0:39:00She continues to write her story.
0:39:00 > 0:39:02- Hello!- Hello.
0:39:05 > 0:39:07Back in Blackburn, Susan was allowed to recuperate.
0:39:09 > 0:39:12How long did it take before you could think straight,
0:39:12 > 0:39:14sleep properly, eat again?
0:39:15 > 0:39:17I think it probably took me
0:39:17 > 0:39:20about maybe three to four months. Maybe six months.
0:39:20 > 0:39:21Really, as long as that?
0:39:21 > 0:39:24You know, to sort various things out as well.
0:39:24 > 0:39:28Where I was going to live and all that.
0:39:28 > 0:39:32Had a fight, because the record company wanted me to stay in London
0:39:32 > 0:39:33and I was lonely in London
0:39:33 > 0:39:35because I was away from friends and my family.
0:39:36 > 0:39:38So it was agreed to have me up in Scotland.
0:39:38 > 0:39:42And I've never looked back since.
0:39:45 > 0:39:48Susan's resolve not to give in to other people's demands
0:39:48 > 0:39:52is something her friend Paul O'Grady has seen first hand.
0:39:54 > 0:39:57She really has got a inner strength, Susan, and she is her own woman.
0:39:57 > 0:40:00She's determined and quite feisty, you know.
0:40:00 > 0:40:03She's tough and she is blinkered.
0:40:03 > 0:40:06You can't get Susan to do something she doesn't want to do. Forget it.
0:40:06 > 0:40:11She is not soft. She really is not delicate!
0:40:11 > 0:40:14She's a tough old bird, Susan, and that's what I love about her!
0:40:14 > 0:40:16It's one of the things I love about her.
0:40:21 > 0:40:24Susan's fear that coming second in Britain's Got Talent
0:40:24 > 0:40:28would end her career was ill-founded.
0:40:28 > 0:40:33It was time to record an album to capitalise on her worldwide fame.
0:40:33 > 0:40:34But her management realised
0:40:34 > 0:40:37that Susan would only thrive by going into hiding.
0:40:37 > 0:40:43# The stars are brightly shining... #
0:40:43 > 0:40:44We knew she felt better,
0:40:44 > 0:40:47and we wanted to make sure she stayed well,
0:40:47 > 0:40:49so she came to stay with me at my house,
0:40:49 > 0:40:53and she moved in with the family and we just had normality.
0:40:53 > 0:40:55She's a Scottish woman of a similar age to me.
0:40:55 > 0:40:57It was totally normal for Susan
0:40:57 > 0:40:59to get up, have breakfast with the family,
0:40:59 > 0:41:02kids went to school, we had a little sandwich for our lunch,
0:41:02 > 0:41:03we did a bit of singing,
0:41:03 > 0:41:05then we went out and had a cup of coffee down the road.
0:41:05 > 0:41:09The kids would come home from school, we'd all have our tea, watch the telly...
0:41:09 > 0:41:12It was normal life and Susan loved that.
0:41:12 > 0:41:15She was probably the happiest I've seen her.
0:41:15 > 0:41:18The routine just was so nice for her,
0:41:18 > 0:41:20after all the chaos, all the madness.
0:41:20 > 0:41:22And nobody really knew she was at my house.
0:41:25 > 0:41:31And during her stay at Yvie's, Susan felt equally at home in the bubble of a recording studio.
0:41:32 > 0:41:34That was a whole new experience.
0:41:34 > 0:41:36Never been in a recording studio in my life.
0:41:36 > 0:41:37A happy experience?
0:41:37 > 0:41:39It was a great experience, yeah.
0:41:39 > 0:41:41So you walk in and they say...
0:41:41 > 0:41:44You sit there and put your headphones on...
0:41:44 > 0:41:48Did it feel natural to you - somehow coming home?
0:41:48 > 0:41:51It felt, it felt safe. It felt secure.
0:41:51 > 0:41:55And you just tell the story that those songs portray.
0:41:55 > 0:42:00You try and do that, according to how you feel with the music.
0:42:00 > 0:42:06# Oh, it's such a perfect day
0:42:08 > 0:42:11# I'm glad I spent it with you... #
0:42:11 > 0:42:15After all the pain, all the setbacks, all the nerves,
0:42:15 > 0:42:20Susan's crowning glory are her studio recordings.
0:42:20 > 0:42:23Her first album, I Dreamed A Dream,
0:42:23 > 0:42:26became the world's biggest seller in 2009.
0:42:26 > 0:42:29Her follow-up album, The Gift,
0:42:29 > 0:42:33went platinum in the UK, North America and Australasia.
0:42:33 > 0:42:37A remarkable achievement. Her latest album, already Number 1 in Britain,
0:42:37 > 0:42:39has also reached the top spot in the United States
0:42:39 > 0:42:43and she's only the third act in history to achieve that feat
0:42:43 > 0:42:45twice within the same year.
0:42:45 > 0:42:47So what's her secret?
0:42:50 > 0:42:52A lot of older people
0:42:52 > 0:42:56can feel kind of disenfranchised by music.
0:42:59 > 0:43:00And...their favourite stars,
0:43:00 > 0:43:03who they've liked from when they were young,
0:43:03 > 0:43:07have grown older and have kind of,
0:43:07 > 0:43:11not used up their talent, but, yes, as you go through a long career,
0:43:11 > 0:43:15you're using up a lot of the gold dust of your voice
0:43:15 > 0:43:17and of your emotional reserves.
0:43:17 > 0:43:20And so by the time these people are in their 50s,
0:43:20 > 0:43:24they're almost worn out.
0:43:24 > 0:43:26There are a few exceptions, but you feel that.
0:43:26 > 0:43:32Whereas Susan was someone who was coming from their generation
0:43:32 > 0:43:34but completely fresh.
0:43:34 > 0:43:35# Such a perfect day
0:43:35 > 0:43:39# You just keep me hanging on... #
0:43:41 > 0:43:43Susan represents note to self.
0:43:44 > 0:43:48You know - it's not about the packaging, it's about the talent.
0:43:50 > 0:43:52She also has that capacity,
0:43:52 > 0:43:56coming from her compassion probably,
0:43:56 > 0:43:58to be able to reach into the pain
0:43:58 > 0:44:02of people who feel that they are broken,
0:44:02 > 0:44:04who feel that they are very vulnerable
0:44:04 > 0:44:08and I think that's a tremendous gift that Susan definitely has.
0:44:19 > 0:44:22Susan delights her fans and critics
0:44:22 > 0:44:28by being able to sing so passionately about love and romance.
0:44:28 > 0:44:30Yet, at the age of 51, Susan has spent
0:44:30 > 0:44:34the vast majority of her life single and living alone.
0:44:37 > 0:44:39# And I can hear you sing
0:44:41 > 0:44:44# My little fish don't cry
0:44:46 > 0:44:48# My little fish don't cry... #
0:44:50 > 0:44:53Well, I think with what Susan's had to struggle with,
0:44:53 > 0:44:57and what always makes me think "Wow" when she's singing,
0:44:57 > 0:45:00it's the passion she's got when she sings about love,
0:45:00 > 0:45:03where she's never been loved, and it's the thing that she would love
0:45:03 > 0:45:08is to find somebody that's special in her life.
0:45:08 > 0:45:10And it's never happened.
0:45:10 > 0:45:12And she has got that passion when she sings.
0:45:12 > 0:45:15And I think that's the way she can convey
0:45:15 > 0:45:17what she would love in her life and
0:45:17 > 0:45:20the love that she wants is through her music.
0:45:20 > 0:45:24# These autumn leaves
0:45:26 > 0:45:32# These autumn leaves are yours tonight. #
0:45:35 > 0:45:39When she became famous, Susan was thrilled to be invited to duet
0:45:39 > 0:45:40with Donny Osmond,
0:45:40 > 0:45:44whom she'd adored as a teenager watching Top Of The Pops.
0:45:46 > 0:45:50# And they called it puppy love... #
0:45:52 > 0:45:56And to this day, she still idolises him.
0:45:56 > 0:45:57Have a good look at that.
0:45:57 > 0:46:01It's the nearest I'll get to him - there he is!
0:46:04 > 0:46:06I'm never too old - I can dream, but don't touch!
0:46:10 > 0:46:13But in her late 20s, while still living with her parents,
0:46:13 > 0:46:19Susan did have a real relationship, if not a short and chaste one.
0:46:19 > 0:46:20You had a very nice boyfriend.
0:46:22 > 0:46:24Very brief boyfriend as well!
0:46:24 > 0:46:27Yeah, but it was because of your father
0:46:27 > 0:46:29that he became a brief boyfriend.
0:46:29 > 0:46:33Well, he didn't really think I was ready for a boyfriend at that time,
0:46:33 > 0:46:35so, um...we'll just leave it.
0:46:35 > 0:46:37What a shame, though, because he was around for,
0:46:37 > 0:46:40I think it was five weeks or something?
0:46:40 > 0:46:42- About seven weeks.- Seven weeks.
0:46:42 > 0:46:45And you did have a nice time with him, but your father...
0:46:45 > 0:46:48on the telephone one evening,
0:46:48 > 0:46:50told him that you didn't want to see him,
0:46:50 > 0:46:52didn't want to speak to him, and that was the end.
0:46:52 > 0:46:54And you obeyed your father.
0:46:54 > 0:46:56Reluctantly, but never mind.
0:46:56 > 0:46:59Yeah. Well, that's a shame, though.
0:46:59 > 0:47:01Do you think your father did the right thing?
0:47:02 > 0:47:05Probably at the time, but I don't want to say too much here.
0:47:05 > 0:47:09- You know, it's a bit personal. - Fair enough, of course.
0:47:09 > 0:47:11And has there been anybody ever since?
0:47:16 > 0:47:20- I had male friends, but I've not had any boyfriends.- OK.
0:47:27 > 0:47:31One ongoing relationship in Susan's life is with her faith
0:47:31 > 0:47:35and in September 2010, she was asked to sing in front of Pope
0:47:35 > 0:47:38and a congregation of tens of thousands in Glasgow.
0:47:42 > 0:47:44But a concern was Susan's nerves.
0:47:46 > 0:47:49Since becoming famous, she had been invited to Asia
0:47:49 > 0:47:52to perform in huge venues - this was one was in China.
0:47:54 > 0:47:57Ladies and gentlemen, Susan Boyle!
0:47:57 > 0:47:59But when asked to perform
0:47:59 > 0:48:02in a similar venue in Japan, Susan wobbled.
0:48:02 > 0:48:06We were doing a rehearsal with the orchestra and Susan didn't want to do it.
0:48:06 > 0:48:08She just said, "I can't face it. I don't want to do it".
0:48:08 > 0:48:10And she was really, really upset. She was in her room, so I said,
0:48:10 > 0:48:14"OK, then, I'll do it." So I went out on stage, got the music,
0:48:14 > 0:48:17stood in front the orchestra, was about to sing...
0:48:18 > 0:48:20Sure enough, Susan comes toddling along -
0:48:20 > 0:48:23"It's OK, I'll do it!" And stands up and does it.
0:48:23 > 0:48:24So the thought that actually I would do it,
0:48:24 > 0:48:27she wouldn't enjoy doing the rehearsal with the orchestra...
0:48:27 > 0:48:29And I didn't intend to do it like that,
0:48:29 > 0:48:31but I did smile to myself at the thought
0:48:31 > 0:48:32that actually she loves it.
0:48:32 > 0:48:35She's nervous, but she didn't want not to do it.
0:48:35 > 0:48:37She wanted to do it.
0:48:41 > 0:48:44On the day, Susan conquered her nerves.
0:48:44 > 0:48:47# When I was a child
0:48:49 > 0:48:55# I could see the wind in the trees... #
0:48:56 > 0:49:00And she did the same in front of the Pope in Glasgow,
0:49:00 > 0:49:03delivering a performance that was one of her finest.
0:49:08 > 0:49:11That was some experience. Pope Benedict.
0:49:11 > 0:49:13When I met him.
0:49:13 > 0:49:16I never thought I'd actually come face-to-face with His Holiness.
0:49:16 > 0:49:18I sang...the three songs
0:49:18 > 0:49:22and then they told me I was going to meet him afterwards,
0:49:22 > 0:49:24but my legs turned to jelly.
0:49:26 > 0:49:29But, er, it was quite an experience. Quite awe-inspiring.
0:49:29 > 0:49:33# Where there is despair in life... #
0:49:33 > 0:49:36You know, in times where she might feel a little bit down
0:49:36 > 0:49:42or whatever, that memory of that day was just stunning.
0:49:46 > 0:49:50Susan's faith is solid, but she has had it tested, especially during
0:49:50 > 0:49:52the "bad periods", as she calls them.
0:49:53 > 0:49:55Susan Boyle!
0:49:56 > 0:49:57There are times even now I get angry.
0:49:59 > 0:50:00And you begin to wonder why
0:50:00 > 0:50:02He puts things like that in your path.
0:50:04 > 0:50:08But I think, really, it's His way of really testing you.
0:50:08 > 0:50:10It is. It is a test.
0:50:10 > 0:50:15Has your faith ever been tested to the point where you thought...
0:50:16 > 0:50:18"I don't want to believe this any more.
0:50:18 > 0:50:20"I don't need it"?
0:50:22 > 0:50:25I think as you get older there's always the danger...
0:50:26 > 0:50:28..that your faith becomes diluted.
0:50:28 > 0:50:29Diluted?
0:50:29 > 0:50:32You know, in that, you begin to see it as a kind of...
0:50:34 > 0:50:37..a kind of something that didn't really happen.
0:50:37 > 0:50:39I would say that...
0:50:39 > 0:50:42I'm beginning to reflect on myself just recently...
0:50:44 > 0:50:47..and I've realised that during these testing times,
0:50:47 > 0:50:52during these kind of moments of doubt,
0:50:52 > 0:50:53that I need it more than ever.
0:50:53 > 0:50:55I need my faith more than ever.
0:50:57 > 0:51:00And I need God to help me through these patches, if you like.
0:51:02 > 0:51:04- Hello!- How are you doing?
0:51:06 > 0:51:10Today, the first Sunday of Advent, will mean a lot to many of us.
0:51:10 > 0:51:13But to committed Catholics like Susan,
0:51:13 > 0:51:16this time of year will have special resonance.
0:51:16 > 0:51:19And we're certainly going to see a lot of Susan this Christmas.
0:51:19 > 0:51:22On the big screen, she stars in a Christmas film
0:51:22 > 0:51:24called The Christmas Candle.
0:51:26 > 0:51:30# Like a candle's flame
0:51:30 > 0:51:33# Hope will lead us there... #
0:51:33 > 0:51:36Tell me the story and the part you play.
0:51:36 > 0:51:38I play Eleanor Hopewell.
0:51:38 > 0:51:40Come on - britches too.
0:51:40 > 0:51:43You're not the first clergyman I've seen in his underpants.
0:51:47 > 0:51:48'I'm married.
0:51:50 > 0:51:52'Well, wait for it...'
0:51:52 > 0:51:55It doesn't last, because my man dies.
0:51:55 > 0:51:57So I was a single fish when I went in
0:51:57 > 0:51:59and a single fish when I come out!
0:51:59 > 0:52:02Do you at least get a screen love scene?
0:52:04 > 0:52:06Well, he does get his first screen kiss, yes.
0:52:06 > 0:52:07- And that's all I'm saying. - OK.
0:52:07 > 0:52:09Watch and learn!
0:52:10 > 0:52:12I will!
0:52:14 > 0:52:18But it's a spiritual Christmas story and you play the vicar's wife?
0:52:18 > 0:52:21That's right, Eleanor Hopewell. Yeah, that's right.
0:52:21 > 0:52:25At the end, you sing THE song of the film.
0:52:25 > 0:52:28- Miracle Hymn. - Miracle Hymn, yeah.
0:52:28 > 0:52:31What does that mean to you, that song?
0:52:31 > 0:52:32It's a Christmas story.
0:52:34 > 0:52:37A joyous story, very religious...
0:52:38 > 0:52:43..and it carries a special spiritual meaning...of Christmas.
0:52:43 > 0:52:45It really captures the Christmas story.
0:52:45 > 0:52:47GENERAL CHAT
0:52:50 > 0:52:55Susan's also releasing her fifth album, full of Christmas songs.
0:52:55 > 0:52:58And in the bright lights of a press conference last month,
0:52:58 > 0:53:02Susan revealed that she is gunning for the Christmas Number 1 slot -
0:53:02 > 0:53:06a posthumous duet with no less than Elvis Presley.
0:53:06 > 0:53:13# O come all ye faithful... #
0:53:14 > 0:53:15With any other artist,
0:53:15 > 0:53:18this might be regarded as cashing in on Christmas.
0:53:18 > 0:53:20But with the single,
0:53:20 > 0:53:23Susan's dedicating all profits to Save the Children
0:53:23 > 0:53:25and has become,
0:53:25 > 0:53:27along with Paul O'Grady, an ambassador for the charity.
0:53:27 > 0:53:33# O come let us adore him
0:53:33 > 0:53:40# O come let us adore him
0:53:42 > 0:53:49# Christ the Lord. #
0:53:51 > 0:53:55Oh, I definitely think for Susan that... If a lot of singers
0:53:55 > 0:53:59are doing a Christmas album, they're just doing it because, you know,
0:53:59 > 0:54:02it's a good idea to do a Christmas album around Christmas -
0:54:02 > 0:54:06just have record sales - but for Susan, with a strong faith,
0:54:06 > 0:54:08a Christmas album is a very, very special thing.
0:54:08 > 0:54:09Listening to Christmas music
0:54:09 > 0:54:13gives you that feeling of going to the church over Christmas,
0:54:13 > 0:54:16of really believing, you know, the Bible story, the whole thing.
0:54:16 > 0:54:18It means so much more.
0:54:18 > 0:54:21I know for Susan it will be a very emotional album to do.
0:54:21 > 0:54:24Though she's too modest to say it,
0:54:24 > 0:54:27Susan gives lot to charitable causes.
0:54:27 > 0:54:31And perhaps this generosity is because, other than having
0:54:31 > 0:54:34an exceptional talent, she sees herself as an average Joe
0:54:34 > 0:54:36who got a lucky break.
0:54:37 > 0:54:40When you're singing, who are you singing to?
0:54:40 > 0:54:42Who do you picture in your mind?
0:54:45 > 0:54:49It depends on the song, really. The words of the song.
0:54:51 > 0:54:56I think there's one particular song called Proud,
0:54:56 > 0:55:00from the very first album I did, and that song was about conflict...
0:55:02 > 0:55:05And I had a lot of conflict
0:55:05 > 0:55:10from my father...and my mother on certain occasions.
0:55:11 > 0:55:13And when I was singing that song...
0:55:14 > 0:55:16..I was being reflective,
0:55:16 > 0:55:19because I think my parents would've been proud of me now.
0:55:19 > 0:55:21# If I'm allowed
0:55:23 > 0:55:27# One day I'll make you proud. #
0:55:32 > 0:55:34You know, there's a great saying in Scotland.
0:55:34 > 0:55:37There's an old Burns saying of, "We're a' Jock Tamson's bairns",
0:55:37 > 0:55:39which means we're actually all the same.
0:55:41 > 0:55:42You can put on your finery
0:55:42 > 0:55:44and, you know, dye your hair
0:55:44 > 0:55:47and have your hair extensions and your spray tan
0:55:47 > 0:55:49and your new teeth or whatever,
0:55:49 > 0:55:51but actually underneath it all,
0:55:51 > 0:55:53we're a' Jock Tamson's bairns,
0:55:53 > 0:55:56and for me, Susan represents that.
0:55:56 > 0:55:59She is of us, and connects
0:55:59 > 0:56:03at a very, very deep and profound level with people.
0:56:03 > 0:56:06- Looking forward to Christmas? - Looking forward to Christmas, yeah.
0:56:06 > 0:56:09What's the best present that you would like to receive?
0:56:09 > 0:56:13- I'd like people to, er, just be happy.- Yeah.
0:56:13 > 0:56:17- Just have a happy... Have a happy day.- Yeah.
0:56:17 > 0:56:19I interviewed Dolly Parton two or three years ago
0:56:19 > 0:56:22and she has a fantastic faith.
0:56:22 > 0:56:25And she says every morning she wakes up and she says,
0:56:25 > 0:56:29"I put my hand in God's hand and I say - what are we going to do today, God?"
0:56:31 > 0:56:34How would you say your relationship is now with God and Our Lady?
0:56:35 > 0:56:38My relationship's a very good one with God,
0:56:38 > 0:56:39and especially with Our Lady,
0:56:39 > 0:56:41because I feel I've got a second mother.
0:56:41 > 0:56:45I've got a second mother, spiritually, and she, she...
0:56:45 > 0:56:47drives me, she drives me on.
0:56:48 > 0:56:51- Well, I wish you a very happy Christmas, Susan.- And you too.
0:56:51 > 0:56:53I'm thrilled to have met you.
0:56:53 > 0:56:55- Thank you very much indeed. - Not at all.
0:56:55 > 0:56:56- Happy Christmas.- Happy Christmas.
0:56:59 > 0:57:02Susan Boyle. SuBo.
0:57:02 > 0:57:04Someone to laugh at.
0:57:04 > 0:57:06It's very easy to create a description like that.
0:57:06 > 0:57:09And throughout her life, Susan has had people
0:57:09 > 0:57:12underestimating her and hurting her.
0:57:12 > 0:57:15And yet, she bears no malice towards her tormentors.
0:57:15 > 0:57:18Instead, she shares her gift of singing with us
0:57:18 > 0:57:19and requires nothing in return.
0:57:20 > 0:57:23Once people laughed at her. Who's laughing now?
0:57:26 > 0:57:28Next week I meet a journalist
0:57:28 > 0:57:30who has lived his life on the front line.
0:57:32 > 0:57:35BBC World Affairs editor John Simpson talks frankly
0:57:35 > 0:57:38about how his belief in God sustains him
0:57:38 > 0:57:42when reporting from some of the most dangerous places on Earth.
0:57:45 > 0:57:50# You're going to reap just what you sow
0:57:57 > 0:58:02# You're going to reap just what you sow. #
0:58:07 > 0:58:09Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd