Susan Boyle Fern Britton Meets...


Susan Boyle

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-SIMON COWELL:

-What's your name, darling?

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OK, and who would you like to be as successful as?

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On Saturday the 11th of April 2009, something unforgettable

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happened here on this stage in Glasgow.

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An eccentric, middle-aged, unemployed woman who lived

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alone with her cat marched on the stage.

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The audience started to snigger.

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And then she started to sing.

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# I dreamed a dream in time gone by... #

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The phrase "overnight star" is often used to describe someone's path to fame and fortune.

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You didn't expect that, did you? Did you? No!

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But there could be no better description to describe the journey of Susan Boyle.

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The day after her Britain's Got Talent audition, Susan Boyle

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achieved national fame.

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Within a week, she'd achieved international fame.

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About 100 million people watched her audition on YouTube.

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# When dreams were made and used and wasted... #

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If you were going to draw up a blueprint for a pop star,

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a middle-aged woman from a mining village in central Scotland

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would not be what you would draw up.

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But by the time Susan had reached the final of Britain's Got Talent,

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the country's mood towards her had shifted.

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The paparazzi were hounding her. There were press reports

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of foul-mouthed outbursts.

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The pressure was all too much and she had a very public breakdown.

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Well, I wasn't aware that I had reached that point.

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I just knew that I wasn't sleeping very well and I wasn't eating very well.

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So there was a week I was really going about in a kind of trance, if you like.

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# And still I dream he'll come to me... #

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After a of period recuperating,

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Susan returned to the place she was born and raised - Blackburn, West Lothian.

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And it's this community of friends, family

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and especially her church, that enabled Susan to bounce back.

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And boy, did Susan Boyle bounce back!

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Her first album became the world's most successful in 2009.

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The next three also topped the charts.

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She's duetted with Elaine Paige, Donny Osmond, Placido Domingo

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and even sang for the Pope.

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Yet throughout Susan has kept her feet on the ground.

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-# Now life has killed the dream I dreamed.

-#

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I think what makes Susan Boyle special, apart from that

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remarkable voice, is her persona.

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She is a very gentle person and I think the general public

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thinks she is one of us, which she is.

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As Susan herself admits, she has had her difficulties

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with life, with friends, with society.

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I've come to the beautiful Stobo Castle to meet Susan

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and ask her how her faith has kept her motivated

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and enabled her and supported her through the difficult hand that life has thrown at her.

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-Thank you very much.

-Not a problem.

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-How are you?

-Very well, thank you.

-Good.

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-Had a good day so far?

-It's been a brilliant day.

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This is really lovely to meet you, Susan.

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I've been looking forward to this very much indeed.

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Your family life at home sounds so loving and busy and big,

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and you were very kind to let us into your house to let us have a look at it.

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And you were... How many children were there?

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-Well, I'm one of nine.

-One of nine.

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There was no television!

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BOTH LAUGH

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Susan's journey began in Blackburn,

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a former mining village, halfway between Edinburgh and Glasgow.

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Her brothers and sisters were born in the 1950s and by the time

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Susan arrived in '61, the council house her big Catholic family

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lived in was already bursting at the seams.

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This used to be the lassies' room.

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There was a big bed in the corner. There was a dressing table.

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And we all used to get ready in here.

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The three girls - there was Bridie, Mary and Kathleen.

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We all slept in here.

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This used to be known as my mum and dad's room.

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The bed was over there.

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They had a wee Z-bed beside them. Guess who was in the Z-bed? Me!

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They had the wardrobe there and everything. I remember it.

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Mm-hm. So that's where it used to be - in here.

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And my room now used to be the laddies' room.

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That's Joe, John, James and Gerry.

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Used to be all in here.

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So you can imagine what it would be like with four men in here!

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But never mind!

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# Just walking in the rain

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# Getting soaking wet... #

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Typical for a community at that time, alongside the pits,

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the pubs, the social clubs and the big housing estates, was church.

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And in the Catholic tradition, a devotion to mother of God -

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the Virgin Mary, known as Our Lady.

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And church and religion was always a big part of the household?

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It was, yeah, it was.

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As people know, we're Roman Catholic and there's a very...

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It's a very important part of my upbringing...

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Indeed it's the backbone of my life.

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Yes, exactly.

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Do you remember the first time that you understood that

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this was church and you were learning about Our Lady and Jesus and God?

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I remember being four years old, and maybe younger, and going to Mass with my dad.

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And he had to get in, into some kind of procession.

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I can't remember the exact time of the year it was, but I remember

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screaming the place down cos he'd left my side.

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And when, and your mother...

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I think it was your mother who gave you a really strong faith in Our Lady?

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-She did, yes.

-Yes, what did she tell you?

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She told me to always trust in Our Lady and to always trust in God

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because he has a special plan for you...

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and he'll see you right.

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Frank Quinn has known Susan for years and taught her at college.

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He is not only a close friend but, as a devout Catholic himself,

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has guided Susan on her spiritual journey.

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He's seen first-hand Susan's devotion to her faith and the Virgin Mary.

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Susan's faith is like a beacon to her, you know?

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It, it gives her light on her journey.

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Her prayer, her prayer is very important to her -

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she prays devoutly to Our Lady.

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She sees Our Lady as being the mother of God.

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# How great Thou art

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# How great Thou art. #

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Across the road from the church Susan attended every Sunday

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was the local Catholic primary school.

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But from the start she found studying difficult.

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I knew I was very slow at school, and I knew I couldn't pick up

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things the way I should have.

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I was always aware that I was never going to be an academic

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and there were some people in my class who were very intelligent

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and who tended to get all the attention.

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And I was sort of left behind.

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I think you find that in most schools, though -

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I'm just speaking generally here.

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And when you... I read in your book that you said that you knew...

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You understood the question and you knew the answer,

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but it was trying to get it all together and be able

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to say it in time before everyone else had moved on.

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That's right. There was a kind of lack of co-ordination, if you like.

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I knew what I wanted to say, but it wouldn't come out.

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I found that very frustrating.

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Yeah, yeah. And singing was always there when you were a little girl at the little school.

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And it was the headmaster who had a singing competition one week, didn't he?

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It was a Burns Competition, yeah.

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And I sang Ye Banks And Braes.

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I never really got very far in the competition

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but I really enjoyed what I was doing,

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and I did a section of poetry as well.

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-There you are. OK?

-Hiya.

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Lorraine Campbell runs a pub in Bathgate, near to where Susan lives.

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She's a close friend of Susan's but was also at school with her

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and can recall her difficulties fitting in.

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You always knew, you know, Susan was on her own - just watching.

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If she did engage in any fun or games, you know,

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a big issue always in Susan's life was the bullying side -

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folk making fun of her, you know?

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Just because she was that bit different from everybody else.

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But when she started singing -

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at the age of nine, it would be at school -

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and that was the first time I realised Susan Boyle

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had a voice, and a beautiful voice.

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This ability of Susan's to connect to people through her singing

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would only be realised later in life.

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But first she had to endure the difficulties of being a loner

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at secondary school.

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I got bullied a lot at school as well and that sort of held me back in some ways, you know?

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There's one day I think they sort of chased you home from school, didn't they?

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Well, they chased me home from school.

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I remember this clearly, actually. And I got to my gate,

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and of course they'd no way...

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I mean, I just made a hell of a lot of noise.

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Of course, my mum came out to see what was wrong.

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Saw them, saw what was happening and just brought me into the house.

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Sadly, on leaving school, things didn't get any better for Susan.

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After briefly landing a job as a kitchen assistant in a local college, she was made redundant.

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But of course, that's another knock, isn't it, to confidence,

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and you have written very movingly about a depression that crept on you.

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People do get depressed at some stage in their life.

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I felt as if I was going into a very dark tunnel and I couldn't get out of it.

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But there was some light at the end of it, but I didn't know where

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that light was and I was kind of searching most of my life.

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Did you find joy in anything during that period?

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It was a very long period of depression.

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And there were times I was OK and times I wasn't OK.

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-You do get that.

-Absolutely.

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Could you take joy in holidays, in being with your family?

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Well, sometimes I felt OK. Sometimes I didn't feel OK.

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But the times I did feel OK made up for it,

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because it's important to have your family and friends around you.

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It was very important then also to have my faith as well.

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So let's go from the beginning of the last section.

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Back in the '90s, Susan, unemployed and depressed,

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decided to throw herself into what made her happy - singing.

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First step - lessons.

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Fred O'Neil, who lived locally, was her first vocal coach.

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It was a November afternoon.

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She'd made an appointment a week before.

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It was a really rainy day, and she arrived in a yellow raincoat,

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with a plastic kind of cover thing,

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you know these plastic covery things, and kind of all dripping.

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And arrived and was full of enthusiasm and we got on really well from the beginning.

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From the start, Fred noticed something quite special about this new pupil of his.

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With Susan, what people hear is that, between Susan's emotion

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and her voice, there isn't a block -

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her emotions and her singing are one.

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She thinks of an emotion, or summons up an emotion - she sings,

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and it's reflected somewhere in her voice, in her tone.

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# Don't let the stars get in your eyes... #

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Amongst the Scottish working classes, there was always a great tradition of the sing-song.

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# Love blooms at night In daylight it dies... #

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In the homes and the pubs.

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And even by the '90s, it wasn't difficult for Susan to find somewhere to perform.

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# ..it was all so simple then

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# Or has time rewritten every line? #

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So you would turn up at the pubs and the clubs where they had

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singing competitions or open mic or whatever it's called nowadays...

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And how did you get the confidence together to think, right,

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I'm going to sit here quietly, listen to what's going on

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and then it's going to be my turn - I'm going to get up and sing?

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It took...took a bit of time.

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It was...as I said before, I was very shy at the time,

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but the compere at the time, a Mr Murphy, you know, he used to compere

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the sing-songs in Blackburn,

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and that was very much part of the community then,

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that you went to that sing-song on the Thursday anyway.

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And it was a good night out.

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Everybody took part in it

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and he noticed one night that I was a bit shy and, um, he just got me up to sing.

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And before you sang, what was the reaction of the audience

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as you walked towards the microphone?

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Well, I couldn't really gauge it then,

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but I went up to sing...

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and their reaction was, "You can do it!"

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You know? There was a lot of clapping going on.

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I says, "Hmm, made a bit of an impact here.

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"I'm not coming back here in a hurry!" You know?

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Blanket over head job, you know?

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Actress Elaine C Smith, herself an accomplished singer,

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played the role of Susan Boyle in the musical of her life.

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Usually in singers, there's just one or two notes that break your heart,

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and Susan's got a bit of...

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She has got that in her voice.

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She'll hit a certain note and you'll sit and listen to it,

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going, "Oh, that's very nice, la la la" and then you know - Wild Horses.

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And there's a couple of notes in there that break your heart,

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and that's what a true artist does.

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And that's about connecting and the desire to connect.

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There's lots of artists out there who just want to show off,

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and go, "Hey, look what I can do - I'm brilliant at that"

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and you go, "Yes, how marvellous".

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But there are other ones that make you go (GASPS) and Susan's got that in her voice.

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# Wild horses

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# Couldn't drag me away

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# Wild horses... #

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Susan's musical ability was no accident of birth.

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There was always music in the Boyle household

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and as a miner in the '50s,

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Susan's dad Patrick was famous for his tenor voice.

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She can recall her dad belting out popular songs like Scarlet Ribbons.

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# And I heard my child in prayer

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# Send for me some scarlet ribbons... #

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So when the strong man in her life became ill, it came as a huge shock.

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My dad had been deteriorating for some time

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and he went into hospital.

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I saw him just before he...before he passed away

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and said my goodbyes to him and all that, cos you do that.

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But it's the first time I actually encountered somebody who...who died.

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And I found that hard to get my head round.

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In what way?

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Well, it was a new area, but a very frightening area for me.

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You know.

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What helped you during that time?

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The fact that my mother was still there.

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But I didn't fully understand what she was going through.

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-No.

-The loneliness she was experiencing and stuff like that.

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I'm beginning to understand it a bit better now.

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Because I'm older now, a bit more mature.

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But I didn't have the maturity to understand the situation at the time.

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# In our town no scarlet ribbons... #

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The setbacks didn't stop there.

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Soon after the death of her father, Susan's sister Kathleen,

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who she was close to, died of an asthma attack.

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Then her mother became ill.

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And it fell to Susan to be the carer.

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# ..my heart was aching... #

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Well, when you're looking after somebody,

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there is a small amount of resentment,

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because you feel as if all responsibility is on your shoulders

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and you can't cope with it.

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But then that resentment can turn to love.

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It did with me, you know.

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I'd be telling a lie to say, "Oh, I was completely loving."

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There was a wee bit of resentment because I couldn't do

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what other people my age did and I couldn't go out a bit more.

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Isolated in the home with her frail mother,

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Susan needed direction in life.

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From a young age,

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Susan found comfort from pilgrimage to Catholic shrines.

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So Susan decided to pay a visit the French town, Lourdes.

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Here it's said apparitions of the Virgin Mary

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appeared in the 19th century.

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Now it's a place where people go

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to strengthen their faith or pray for a cure for their illness.

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And when you went to Lourdes, what did you feel?

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I felt a great sense of peace...

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A sense of being able to communicate my own personal thoughts.

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And, er, there was a detachment, if you like,

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from the worries of the outside world.

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That's powerful too, isn't it?

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Well, sometimes you need that.

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You need that kind of detachment, if you like, if you want to, er...

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How can I best put this?

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If you want to focus more on what's really bothering you.

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You need that kind of reflection, if you like,

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that reflection to really...make a difference to yourself.

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And what was it that you needed to focus on?

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I didn't know what direction my life was going.

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I didn't know...

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Really, what I wanted, you know, so I thought...really, leave it

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to a higher authority and let Him sort out my life for me.

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So that visit to Lourdes - when you came home, did life change?

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Was there a miracle?

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I wouldn't say it was a miracle in a way,

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but I began to do things on my own more.

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This is Susan last year collecting an honorary degree

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from Queen Margaret University.

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It was in recognition of a course in caring she started after her visit to Lourdes years before.

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All part of an effort to be more independent and get her life back on track.

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Just hold it right up in the air for us.

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Hold it right up.

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When I looked at Susan, she had a capacity about her,

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and having worked with students for many years, you can pick that up -

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it's an intuitive thing that tutors have,

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and I knew that Susan had a capacity to succeed.

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She wasn't sure whether she did or not,

0:22:230:22:25

but I was confident that she had a capacity to actually succeed.

0:22:250:22:29

But as Susan was learning how to care for her mum,

0:22:340:22:37

her mother's health continued to deteriorate.

0:22:370:22:40

I remember her saying to me, and she was pretty low at this time...

0:22:430:22:47

"Susan, I'm not going to live very long.

0:22:480:22:50

"Look after my house and look after my cat."

0:22:500:22:53

And she says something else as well, "Remember you're mine."

0:22:540:22:59

And I said, "OK."

0:22:590:23:00

I can talk about it now. Couldn't at the time

0:23:020:23:05

because I would always burst into tears,

0:23:050:23:07

but you get strength from somewhere.

0:23:070:23:09

And after my mother's death, I got strength from the Legion of Mary.

0:23:110:23:16

I joined the Legion of Mary.

0:23:170:23:18

Those who join the Legion of Mary

0:23:220:23:23

devote themselves to the duties of their local church,

0:23:230:23:26

such as evangelising and caring for the vulnerable, old and sick.

0:23:260:23:31

As self-sacrificing as this work was,

0:23:310:23:34

it didn't sustain Susan and she struggled to cope.

0:23:340:23:37

I was down to six and a half stone.

0:23:400:23:42

The house was in an absolute mess, I was in a mess.

0:23:420:23:46

I think...yeah...

0:23:510:23:52

I was in a mess. Had social services in.

0:23:520:23:55

Because you couldn't look after yourself?

0:23:560:23:58

I had such a shock at my mother dying,

0:23:580:24:01

so I had that for about two years.

0:24:010:24:03

Oh, Susan was very low.

0:24:030:24:06

She was unhappy, you know,

0:24:060:24:09

for about seven months, you know.

0:24:090:24:12

You couldn't really talk to Susan, engage in conversation,

0:24:120:24:15

cos her social's going to church, going to the local shops,

0:24:150:24:18

and just having a wee talk with folk in the street when she's going by,

0:24:180:24:22

and that wasn't happening.

0:24:220:24:24

And then she kind of thought, I'm sitting here doing nothing.

0:24:240:24:27

She had a purpose and she always wanted to make her mum proud, and her family.

0:24:270:24:32

And then, just when you, you thought things couldn't...

0:24:320:24:35

Maybe can improve a bit, I said, well, there's only one thing you could do,

0:24:360:24:40

if you can't have anything else - you could try your hand at singing.

0:24:400:24:45

And I hadn't sung for quite some time because of the death of my mother.

0:24:470:24:50

So I applied for various auditions and the one I did apply for

0:24:500:24:54

was Britain's Got Talent but I never really thought I'd get through.

0:24:540:24:59

I just put the form in anyway.

0:24:590:25:01

And er...I got, I got through

0:25:010:25:05

and then I get a phone call to meet the panel.

0:25:050:25:08

So I says, in a way, my mother must have wanted me to do this.

0:25:090:25:12

Susan's got a determination in her. Although she can be quite shy

0:25:140:25:18

and fragile and, you know, quite vulnerable,

0:25:180:25:21

if she wants to do something,

0:25:210:25:24

she's determined, stubborn and she'll do what she wants to do.

0:25:240:25:27

She got up that day and she wanted to go along to that audition.

0:25:270:25:31

That whole day started very, very early in the morning.

0:25:310:25:34

Half past six in the morning.

0:25:340:25:36

Half past six in the morning.

0:25:360:25:38

You were recovering from the death of your mother.

0:25:380:25:41

You decided, "I'm going to go and do this".

0:25:410:25:43

So you had no-one at home to say, "Hmm, Susan, I don't think the white shoes are right"?

0:25:430:25:48

I just stuck anything on me, you know?

0:25:490:25:53

Hopped on the bus. It was the wrong bus.

0:25:530:25:56

The wrong bus. I could see the place but I couldn't get to the damn place. Excuse me!

0:25:560:26:01

Got another bus. Got there.

0:26:020:26:04

That's right. I was supposed to be there at half past nine.

0:26:040:26:07

I arrived maybe a couple of minutes late, and they said,

0:26:070:26:10

"You have to wait till the next batch of auditions."

0:26:100:26:12

So I said, "I'm not going back home all this distance,

0:26:130:26:17

"having come this far",

0:26:170:26:18

so I just decided...well, they decided to put me into the holding room.

0:26:180:26:21

Susan performed her audition at the Glasgow's SECC auditorium in January 2009.

0:26:220:26:29

-What's your name, darling?

-My name is Susan Boyle.

0:26:290:26:32

You sang so beautifully for that audition and when you saw...

0:26:320:26:38

Did you feel the audience's atmosphere change?

0:26:380:26:43

-I felt...I felt they were listening to me.

-Yeah.

0:26:430:26:46

I could also sense that my dad was there as well.

0:26:460:26:49

-Could you?

-Mm-hm.

0:26:490:26:51

# Then I was young and unafraid... #

0:26:510:26:55

-Around you? Next to you?

-Probably next to me.

0:26:550:26:57

# And dreams were made and used and wasted... #

0:26:570:27:02

So you could feel that and sing so beautifully all at the same time?

0:27:020:27:07

Maybe it was him that had helped me.

0:27:070:27:08

SHE HOLDS NOTE

0:27:080:27:11

RAPTUROUS APPLAUSE

0:27:160:27:18

Look at that!

0:27:180:27:21

Other than the audience,

0:27:230:27:25

nobody knew how well Susan's audition really went.

0:27:250:27:28

# That we would live the years together... #

0:27:280:27:32

Had you told anyone at home that you were doing this?

0:27:320:27:35

I think I told the half the... half the people in Blackburn.

0:27:360:27:38

# And there are storms we cannot weather... #

0:27:380:27:42

But they used to go, "That's just Susan talking.

0:27:440:27:47

"Just leave her. Just leave her alone."

0:27:470:27:49

Really? Just thought you'd made it up?

0:27:490:27:51

So I got the application form at that time

0:27:560:27:58

and I showed it to somebody and they went,

0:27:580:28:01

"You didn't do that. I bet you never even went."

0:28:010:28:04

I says, "I did. I'm just back."

0:28:040:28:06

# Now life has killed the dream I dreamed. #

0:28:080:28:15

The minute her audition was broadcast,

0:28:190:28:21

there was a knock at the door.

0:28:210:28:23

So I goes to answer the door and these screaming kids...

0:28:240:28:27

Everybody was sort of, well... Every house was lit up and every door was open

0:28:270:28:32

and I was, "Oh, my God!"

0:28:320:28:35

You know?

0:28:350:28:36

That's when it started going a bit crazy.

0:28:360:28:38

Within days, Susan was a national phenomenon.

0:28:420:28:45

Within a week, her Britain's Got Talent audition went viral

0:28:450:28:48

around the globe and she achieved international stardom.

0:28:480:28:53

Overnight, the 48-year-old has become a worldwide internet sensation,

0:28:530:28:57

with even Hollywood stars talking about her extraordinary voice.

0:28:570:29:01

I had a student.

0:29:070:29:09

He'd come to me, a young man, and he said,

0:29:090:29:13

"Have you seen the papers?

0:29:130:29:14

"There's a woman in Whitburn they're calling Paula Potts".

0:29:140:29:21

I said, "Oh, that must be Susan",

0:29:210:29:23

because I think they got it wrong in saying Whitburn

0:29:230:29:26

and not Blackburn at that stage, and I just knew it was Susan.

0:29:260:29:32

There just couldn't be two singers in the area

0:29:320:29:37

who would have that reaction. Not at all.

0:29:370:29:40

When the whole explosion of Susan took place, I was in the...

0:29:410:29:45

I was lucky enough to be in the West End, doing Calendar Girls.

0:29:450:29:49

I was in the original cast of that

0:29:490:29:51

and we were the first ones to go in the West End.

0:29:510:29:54

And on the evening of the Britain's Got Talent now mega-event,

0:29:540:29:59

I'd come down after the interval, ready to go on for the second act,

0:29:590:30:03

and they were going, "Oh, Elaine,

0:30:030:30:04

"there's this wee woman from Glasgow.

0:30:040:30:06

"She just went on and she looked terrible,

0:30:060:30:08

"and then she sang and we were crying".

0:30:080:30:10

And we were laughing. They says, "You should see it".

0:30:100:30:13

And I turned to Sian Phillips, who will tell you

0:30:130:30:15

this is the absolute truth,

0:30:150:30:16

and I laughed, and Sian said, "Are you going in to watch it?"

0:30:160:30:19

And I said, "No. I'll end up playing her in the story of her life!"

0:30:190:30:22

But becoming an overnight worldwide celebrity

0:30:250:30:28

comes with its own pressures,

0:30:280:30:30

with red-top tabloids like The Sun demanding scandal about SuBo.

0:30:300:30:35

It was quite hard and difficult to deal with.

0:30:380:30:41

It was just myself and Susan, out of our comfort zone.

0:30:410:30:45

Never experienced anything like this. The only way I could ever say...

0:30:450:30:49

It was like Princess Diana, the way she was chased

0:30:490:30:52

and the way people wanted a piece of her.

0:30:520:30:55

We were staying in London at the time.

0:30:550:30:57

Lorraine and I were at a friend's house and she was up in the shower

0:30:570:31:00

and I sneaked out to get a paper.

0:31:000:31:03

You can't sneak out! You're Susan Boyle.

0:31:050:31:07

You're the woman who's on every page!

0:31:070:31:09

Well, I sneaked out to get a paper that time, purely for recreation.

0:31:090:31:13

And she followed... Lorraine followed me out.

0:31:130:31:18

I thought, "How do I get myself back?"

0:31:180:31:21

We're supposed to going back to the studios later on.

0:31:210:31:24

And I was shaking, you know, cos it was so daunting,

0:31:240:31:27

the whole process of trying to get her from a shop,

0:31:270:31:30

getting her back to the house.

0:31:300:31:32

There must have been hundreds of people round her.

0:31:320:31:35

People were running out of shops,

0:31:350:31:37

cars were stopping in the middle of the street, buses, everything.

0:31:370:31:41

It was...it was bizarre.

0:31:410:31:44

But it wasn't just the press making Susan's life difficult -

0:31:470:31:50

it was her fear of going on stage.

0:31:500:31:53

Yvie Burnett is a vocal coach on many big-branded entertainment shows

0:31:540:31:58

and worked with Susan on Britain's Got Talent, on her albums and on her tour.

0:31:580:32:03

So how's your voice?

0:32:030:32:06

Not bad, but I'm a bit husky.

0:32:060:32:08

It's interesting with Susan,

0:32:080:32:10

because I think she builds up in her head

0:32:100:32:13

a fear of going out on the stage,

0:32:130:32:15

and it's so ironic,

0:32:150:32:17

because when she is out on the stage, she loves it.

0:32:170:32:20

And if she could somehow equate,

0:32:200:32:23

if she would somehow convince herself

0:32:230:32:26

before she goes on that she loves it,

0:32:260:32:29

that would be the key to her nerves.

0:32:290:32:30

She always fears she's going to fail.

0:32:300:32:32

She fears that people won't like her singing any more.

0:32:320:32:34

She's enjoyed so much that people are loving her singing,

0:32:340:32:37

she just wants to hold on to that and have everyone still love it and love it forever.

0:32:370:32:41

Back in 2009, Susan had to perform both the live semifinal

0:32:450:32:50

and the live final in one week.

0:32:500:32:52

This, combined with being on the front page of tabloids

0:32:520:32:55

on daily basis, meant that Susan was becoming ever more anxious.

0:32:550:32:59

Well, I wasn't aware that I had reached that point.

0:33:050:33:08

I just knew that I wasn't sleeping very well

0:33:080:33:11

and I wasn't eating very well.

0:33:110:33:12

So there was a week I was really going about in a kind of trance, if you like.

0:33:120:33:16

You know, I didn't really know what I was doing.

0:33:180:33:20

So by the final, I looked an absolute mess, you know.

0:33:210:33:25

How did you feel inside?

0:33:250:33:27

Inside I felt I really tense...

0:33:280:33:32

-worried...totally exhausted.

-Yeah.

0:33:320:33:36

Did you think to yourself,

0:33:360:33:38

"This isn't worth it. I'm going to do a runner"?

0:33:380:33:40

"I'm going home"?

0:33:400:33:42

I'm not a defeatist. I'd see it right through to the end

0:33:420:33:46

and see what the result was.

0:33:460:33:48

It was suddenly like not a little show taking place

0:33:480:33:51

in Wembley any more - it was this international big deal

0:33:510:33:54

that Susan Boyle was in the final

0:33:540:33:56

and I think now we look at it, we think,

0:33:560:33:58

it must have just been so strange for a little lady from Blackburn.

0:33:580:34:03

Just not even in the realms of what she's used to.

0:34:030:34:07

The whole day, you could see her getting more and more worried,

0:34:070:34:11

more and more upset, feeling ill, feeling sick, thinking she

0:34:110:34:15

was going to be sick.

0:34:150:34:16

Not normal nerves, and it was, it was hard.

0:34:170:34:20

In the run-up to her final performance,

0:34:210:34:23

Susan was inconsolable - frightened to set foot on stage.

0:34:230:34:28

In desperation, Frank Quinn was called while on holiday.

0:34:280:34:33

The phone rang and it was Lorraine, her friend, putting Susan on,

0:34:330:34:38

and Susan was indicating to me... And it was one of five phone calls

0:34:380:34:43

that day, leading up,

0:34:430:34:45

to say that she didn't think she had the courage to go out on stage.

0:34:450:34:50

As a friend would do, I focused and refocused Susan

0:34:500:34:55

on the fact, "Susan, you are here - this is what you want to do.

0:34:550:35:00

"Our Lady is on one side of you, your mum is on the other.

0:35:000:35:03

"All you have to do is get out on the stage and sing. I promise you,

0:35:030:35:08

"once you start to sing, you will have them in the palm of your hand".

0:35:080:35:12

Susan Boyle!

0:35:130:35:14

Do you remember anything about leaving your dressing room

0:35:160:35:21

and walking to the stage to give that last performance?

0:35:210:35:25

I knew I was on automatic pilot.

0:35:270:35:30

I can remember some of it. I remember the tension

0:35:300:35:34

when I was performing...

0:35:340:35:36

..and the kind of disappointment...

0:35:380:35:43

..and all the other emotions that goes with it when I came second,

0:35:460:35:49

because I thought everything was over then.

0:35:490:35:51

Really, you thought that was it?

0:35:510:35:52

No-one would ever want to hear from you again?

0:35:520:35:55

That's right, I did think that, yeah.

0:35:550:35:56

Susan never seen what was happening behind the scenes,

0:35:560:35:59

how famous she was, even coming in second, and what was...

0:35:590:36:03

what doors were going to open for her.

0:36:030:36:06

And she was sad, you know?

0:36:060:36:08

It was like she seen it as another failing in her life.

0:36:080:36:11

You know, she always wanted to feel she was part of it.

0:36:110:36:15

Susan still struggles today trying to feel she's accepted.

0:36:150:36:19

It's a word that she always uses - "I just want to feel accepted,

0:36:190:36:23

"like everybody else in society".

0:36:230:36:25

A combination of the intense pressure

0:36:290:36:31

Susan was under, little sleep and an aggressive press exhausted Susan.

0:36:310:36:36

# Now you say you love me... #

0:36:360:36:42

After the result,

0:36:420:36:43

she had a breakdown and agreed to go into the Priory.

0:36:430:36:47

It's not a spa or anything like that, like it is here.

0:36:470:36:50

It's a kind of place people go to recover, if you like.

0:36:510:36:54

You know. I really shouldn't have been there at the time.

0:36:560:36:58

I should've been up the road, home.

0:36:580:37:00

Susan's stay in the Priory was her rock bottom -

0:37:040:37:07

all conducted in the full glare of the world's media.

0:37:070:37:10

But after a few days she was finally allowed to return to Scotland.

0:37:140:37:18

As the place where Susan was born and raised,

0:37:220:37:24

Blackburn means a lot to Susan Boyle.

0:37:240:37:26

# Well, you can cry me a river... #

0:37:260:37:30

So much so that despite having a big new house built in the village,

0:37:300:37:34

she chooses to still live in the ex-council house

0:37:340:37:37

she was brought up in.

0:37:370:37:38

And despite having millions in the bank, she still chooses to catch the bus to the shops.

0:37:410:37:46

Everybody knows Susan and Susan knows many people in her town.

0:37:500:37:55

And the locals are fiercely proud of her.

0:37:570:38:00

She can sing and I'm glad it turned out how it did for her.

0:38:010:38:06

I think she's fantastic. Should have happened years ago.

0:38:060:38:09

She's always been a good singer.

0:38:110:38:13

I've seen her singing in local clubs for years.

0:38:130:38:16

She's a fantastic singer.

0:38:180:38:19

She's done well.

0:38:190:38:21

And I'm pleased for her, ken what I mean?

0:38:210:38:24

And she deserved it.

0:38:240:38:26

Her geographical community

0:38:260:38:28

is extremely important to Susan, you know?

0:38:280:38:32

The whole area of Blackburn.

0:38:320:38:33

She wants to stay there,

0:38:330:38:35

because she's on first-name terms with her neighbours.

0:38:350:38:38

Everyone knows Susan.

0:38:380:38:40

How are you? You doing good, yeah?

0:38:400:38:42

-Very well. You're looking very nice, by the way.

-Thank you.

0:38:420:38:45

-You take care, Susan.

-OK, no problem.

0:38:450:38:47

Community is essential for Susan being happy and being joyful

0:38:470:38:54

and being able to give and to be able to receive. You know?

0:38:540:38:58

She continues to write her story.

0:38:580:39:00

-Hello!

-Hello.

0:39:000:39:02

Back in Blackburn, Susan was allowed to recuperate.

0:39:050:39:07

How long did it take before you could think straight,

0:39:090:39:12

sleep properly, eat again?

0:39:120:39:14

I think it probably took me

0:39:150:39:17

about maybe three to four months. Maybe six months.

0:39:170:39:20

Really, as long as that?

0:39:200:39:21

You know, to sort various things out as well.

0:39:210:39:24

Where I was going to live and all that.

0:39:240:39:28

Had a fight, because the record company wanted me to stay in London

0:39:280:39:32

and I was lonely in London

0:39:320:39:33

because I was away from friends and my family.

0:39:330:39:35

So it was agreed to have me up in Scotland.

0:39:360:39:38

And I've never looked back since.

0:39:380:39:42

Susan's resolve not to give in to other people's demands

0:39:450:39:48

is something her friend Paul O'Grady has seen first hand.

0:39:480:39:52

She really has got a inner strength, Susan, and she is her own woman.

0:39:540:39:57

She's determined and quite feisty, you know.

0:39:570:40:00

She's tough and she is blinkered.

0:40:000:40:03

You can't get Susan to do something she doesn't want to do. Forget it.

0:40:030:40:06

She is not soft. She really is not delicate!

0:40:060:40:11

She's a tough old bird, Susan, and that's what I love about her!

0:40:110:40:14

It's one of the things I love about her.

0:40:140:40:16

Susan's fear that coming second in Britain's Got Talent

0:40:210:40:24

would end her career was ill-founded.

0:40:240:40:28

It was time to record an album to capitalise on her worldwide fame.

0:40:280:40:33

But her management realised

0:40:330:40:34

that Susan would only thrive by going into hiding.

0:40:340:40:37

# The stars are brightly shining... #

0:40:370:40:43

We knew she felt better,

0:40:430:40:44

and we wanted to make sure she stayed well,

0:40:440:40:47

so she came to stay with me at my house,

0:40:470:40:49

and she moved in with the family and we just had normality.

0:40:490:40:53

She's a Scottish woman of a similar age to me.

0:40:530:40:55

It was totally normal for Susan

0:40:550:40:57

to get up, have breakfast with the family,

0:40:570:40:59

kids went to school, we had a little sandwich for our lunch,

0:40:590:41:02

we did a bit of singing,

0:41:020:41:03

then we went out and had a cup of coffee down the road.

0:41:030:41:05

The kids would come home from school, we'd all have our tea, watch the telly...

0:41:050:41:09

It was normal life and Susan loved that.

0:41:090:41:12

She was probably the happiest I've seen her.

0:41:120:41:15

The routine just was so nice for her,

0:41:150:41:18

after all the chaos, all the madness.

0:41:180:41:20

And nobody really knew she was at my house.

0:41:200:41:22

And during her stay at Yvie's, Susan felt equally at home in the bubble of a recording studio.

0:41:250:41:31

That was a whole new experience.

0:41:320:41:34

Never been in a recording studio in my life.

0:41:340:41:36

A happy experience?

0:41:360:41:37

It was a great experience, yeah.

0:41:370:41:39

So you walk in and they say...

0:41:390:41:41

You sit there and put your headphones on...

0:41:410:41:44

Did it feel natural to you - somehow coming home?

0:41:440:41:48

It felt, it felt safe. It felt secure.

0:41:480:41:51

And you just tell the story that those songs portray.

0:41:510:41:55

You try and do that, according to how you feel with the music.

0:41:550:42:00

# Oh, it's such a perfect day

0:42:000:42:06

# I'm glad I spent it with you... #

0:42:080:42:11

After all the pain, all the setbacks, all the nerves,

0:42:110:42:15

Susan's crowning glory are her studio recordings.

0:42:150:42:20

Her first album, I Dreamed A Dream,

0:42:200:42:23

became the world's biggest seller in 2009.

0:42:230:42:26

Her follow-up album, The Gift,

0:42:260:42:29

went platinum in the UK, North America and Australasia.

0:42:290:42:33

A remarkable achievement. Her latest album, already Number 1 in Britain,

0:42:330:42:37

has also reached the top spot in the United States

0:42:370:42:39

and she's only the third act in history to achieve that feat

0:42:390:42:43

twice within the same year.

0:42:430:42:45

So what's her secret?

0:42:450:42:47

A lot of older people

0:42:500:42:52

can feel kind of disenfranchised by music.

0:42:520:42:56

And...their favourite stars,

0:42:590:43:00

who they've liked from when they were young,

0:43:000:43:03

have grown older and have kind of,

0:43:030:43:07

not used up their talent, but, yes, as you go through a long career,

0:43:070:43:11

you're using up a lot of the gold dust of your voice

0:43:110:43:15

and of your emotional reserves.

0:43:150:43:17

And so by the time these people are in their 50s,

0:43:170:43:20

they're almost worn out.

0:43:200:43:24

There are a few exceptions, but you feel that.

0:43:240:43:26

Whereas Susan was someone who was coming from their generation

0:43:260:43:32

but completely fresh.

0:43:320:43:34

# Such a perfect day

0:43:340:43:35

# You just keep me hanging on... #

0:43:350:43:39

Susan represents note to self.

0:43:410:43:43

You know - it's not about the packaging, it's about the talent.

0:43:440:43:48

She also has that capacity,

0:43:500:43:52

coming from her compassion probably,

0:43:520:43:56

to be able to reach into the pain

0:43:560:43:58

of people who feel that they are broken,

0:43:580:44:02

who feel that they are very vulnerable

0:44:020:44:04

and I think that's a tremendous gift that Susan definitely has.

0:44:040:44:08

Susan delights her fans and critics

0:44:190:44:22

by being able to sing so passionately about love and romance.

0:44:220:44:28

Yet, at the age of 51, Susan has spent

0:44:280:44:30

the vast majority of her life single and living alone.

0:44:300:44:34

# And I can hear you sing

0:44:370:44:39

# My little fish don't cry

0:44:410:44:44

# My little fish don't cry... #

0:44:460:44:48

Well, I think with what Susan's had to struggle with,

0:44:500:44:53

and what always makes me think "Wow" when she's singing,

0:44:530:44:57

it's the passion she's got when she sings about love,

0:44:570:45:00

where she's never been loved, and it's the thing that she would love

0:45:000:45:03

is to find somebody that's special in her life.

0:45:030:45:08

And it's never happened.

0:45:080:45:10

And she has got that passion when she sings.

0:45:100:45:12

And I think that's the way she can convey

0:45:120:45:15

what she would love in her life and

0:45:150:45:17

the love that she wants is through her music.

0:45:170:45:20

# These autumn leaves

0:45:200:45:24

# These autumn leaves are yours tonight. #

0:45:260:45:32

When she became famous, Susan was thrilled to be invited to duet

0:45:350:45:39

with Donny Osmond,

0:45:390:45:40

whom she'd adored as a teenager watching Top Of The Pops.

0:45:400:45:44

# And they called it puppy love... #

0:45:460:45:50

And to this day, she still idolises him.

0:45:520:45:56

Have a good look at that.

0:45:560:45:57

It's the nearest I'll get to him - there he is!

0:45:570:46:01

I'm never too old - I can dream, but don't touch!

0:46:040:46:06

But in her late 20s, while still living with her parents,

0:46:100:46:13

Susan did have a real relationship, if not a short and chaste one.

0:46:130:46:19

You had a very nice boyfriend.

0:46:190:46:20

Very brief boyfriend as well!

0:46:220:46:24

Yeah, but it was because of your father

0:46:240:46:27

that he became a brief boyfriend.

0:46:270:46:29

Well, he didn't really think I was ready for a boyfriend at that time,

0:46:290:46:33

so, um...we'll just leave it.

0:46:330:46:35

What a shame, though, because he was around for,

0:46:350:46:37

I think it was five weeks or something?

0:46:370:46:40

-About seven weeks.

-Seven weeks.

0:46:400:46:42

And you did have a nice time with him, but your father...

0:46:420:46:45

on the telephone one evening,

0:46:450:46:48

told him that you didn't want to see him,

0:46:480:46:50

didn't want to speak to him, and that was the end.

0:46:500:46:52

And you obeyed your father.

0:46:520:46:54

Reluctantly, but never mind.

0:46:540:46:56

Yeah. Well, that's a shame, though.

0:46:560:46:59

Do you think your father did the right thing?

0:46:590:47:01

Probably at the time, but I don't want to say too much here.

0:47:020:47:05

-You know, it's a bit personal.

-Fair enough, of course.

0:47:050:47:09

And has there been anybody ever since?

0:47:090:47:11

-I had male friends, but I've not had any boyfriends.

-OK.

0:47:160:47:20

One ongoing relationship in Susan's life is with her faith

0:47:270:47:31

and in September 2010, she was asked to sing in front of Pope

0:47:310:47:35

and a congregation of tens of thousands in Glasgow.

0:47:350:47:38

But a concern was Susan's nerves.

0:47:420:47:44

Since becoming famous, she had been invited to Asia

0:47:460:47:49

to perform in huge venues - this was one was in China.

0:47:490:47:52

Ladies and gentlemen, Susan Boyle!

0:47:540:47:57

But when asked to perform

0:47:570:47:59

in a similar venue in Japan, Susan wobbled.

0:47:590:48:02

We were doing a rehearsal with the orchestra and Susan didn't want to do it.

0:48:020:48:06

She just said, "I can't face it. I don't want to do it".

0:48:060:48:08

And she was really, really upset. She was in her room, so I said,

0:48:080:48:10

"OK, then, I'll do it." So I went out on stage, got the music,

0:48:100:48:14

stood in front the orchestra, was about to sing...

0:48:140:48:17

Sure enough, Susan comes toddling along -

0:48:180:48:20

"It's OK, I'll do it!" And stands up and does it.

0:48:200:48:23

So the thought that actually I would do it,

0:48:230:48:24

she wouldn't enjoy doing the rehearsal with the orchestra...

0:48:240:48:27

And I didn't intend to do it like that,

0:48:270:48:29

but I did smile to myself at the thought

0:48:290:48:31

that actually she loves it.

0:48:310:48:32

She's nervous, but she didn't want not to do it.

0:48:320:48:35

She wanted to do it.

0:48:350:48:37

On the day, Susan conquered her nerves.

0:48:410:48:44

# When I was a child

0:48:440:48:47

# I could see the wind in the trees... #

0:48:490:48:55

And she did the same in front of the Pope in Glasgow,

0:48:560:49:00

delivering a performance that was one of her finest.

0:49:000:49:03

That was some experience. Pope Benedict.

0:49:080:49:11

When I met him.

0:49:110:49:13

I never thought I'd actually come face-to-face with His Holiness.

0:49:130:49:16

I sang...the three songs

0:49:160:49:18

and then they told me I was going to meet him afterwards,

0:49:180:49:22

but my legs turned to jelly.

0:49:220:49:24

But, er, it was quite an experience. Quite awe-inspiring.

0:49:260:49:29

# Where there is despair in life... #

0:49:290:49:33

You know, in times where she might feel a little bit down

0:49:330:49:36

or whatever, that memory of that day was just stunning.

0:49:360:49:42

Susan's faith is solid, but she has had it tested, especially during

0:49:460:49:50

the "bad periods", as she calls them.

0:49:500:49:52

Susan Boyle!

0:49:530:49:55

There are times even now I get angry.

0:49:560:49:57

And you begin to wonder why

0:49:590:50:00

He puts things like that in your path.

0:50:000:50:02

But I think, really, it's His way of really testing you.

0:50:040:50:08

It is. It is a test.

0:50:080:50:10

Has your faith ever been tested to the point where you thought...

0:50:100:50:15

"I don't want to believe this any more.

0:50:160:50:18

"I don't need it"?

0:50:180:50:20

I think as you get older there's always the danger...

0:50:220:50:25

..that your faith becomes diluted.

0:50:260:50:28

Diluted?

0:50:280:50:29

You know, in that, you begin to see it as a kind of...

0:50:290:50:32

..a kind of something that didn't really happen.

0:50:340:50:37

I would say that...

0:50:370:50:39

I'm beginning to reflect on myself just recently...

0:50:390:50:42

..and I've realised that during these testing times,

0:50:440:50:47

during these kind of moments of doubt,

0:50:470:50:52

that I need it more than ever.

0:50:520:50:53

I need my faith more than ever.

0:50:530:50:55

And I need God to help me through these patches, if you like.

0:50:570:51:00

-Hello!

-How are you doing?

0:51:020:51:04

Today, the first Sunday of Advent, will mean a lot to many of us.

0:51:060:51:10

But to committed Catholics like Susan,

0:51:100:51:13

this time of year will have special resonance.

0:51:130:51:16

And we're certainly going to see a lot of Susan this Christmas.

0:51:160:51:19

On the big screen, she stars in a Christmas film

0:51:190:51:22

called The Christmas Candle.

0:51:220:51:24

# Like a candle's flame

0:51:260:51:30

# Hope will lead us there... #

0:51:300:51:33

Tell me the story and the part you play.

0:51:330:51:36

I play Eleanor Hopewell.

0:51:360:51:38

Come on - britches too.

0:51:380:51:40

You're not the first clergyman I've seen in his underpants.

0:51:400:51:43

'I'm married.

0:51:470:51:48

'Well, wait for it...'

0:51:500:51:52

It doesn't last, because my man dies.

0:51:520:51:55

So I was a single fish when I went in

0:51:550:51:57

and a single fish when I come out!

0:51:570:51:59

Do you at least get a screen love scene?

0:51:590:52:02

Well, he does get his first screen kiss, yes.

0:52:040:52:06

-And that's all I'm saying.

-OK.

0:52:060:52:07

Watch and learn!

0:52:070:52:09

I will!

0:52:100:52:12

But it's a spiritual Christmas story and you play the vicar's wife?

0:52:140:52:18

That's right, Eleanor Hopewell. Yeah, that's right.

0:52:180:52:21

At the end, you sing THE song of the film.

0:52:210:52:25

-Miracle Hymn.

-Miracle Hymn, yeah.

0:52:250:52:28

What does that mean to you, that song?

0:52:280:52:31

It's a Christmas story.

0:52:310:52:32

A joyous story, very religious...

0:52:340:52:37

..and it carries a special spiritual meaning...of Christmas.

0:52:380:52:43

It really captures the Christmas story.

0:52:430:52:45

GENERAL CHAT

0:52:450:52:47

Susan's also releasing her fifth album, full of Christmas songs.

0:52:500:52:55

And in the bright lights of a press conference last month,

0:52:550:52:58

Susan revealed that she is gunning for the Christmas Number 1 slot -

0:52:580:53:02

a posthumous duet with no less than Elvis Presley.

0:53:020:53:06

# O come all ye faithful... #

0:53:060:53:13

With any other artist,

0:53:140:53:15

this might be regarded as cashing in on Christmas.

0:53:150:53:18

But with the single,

0:53:180:53:20

Susan's dedicating all profits to Save the Children

0:53:200:53:23

and has become,

0:53:230:53:25

along with Paul O'Grady, an ambassador for the charity.

0:53:250:53:27

# O come let us adore him

0:53:270:53:33

# O come let us adore him

0:53:330:53:40

# Christ the Lord. #

0:53:420:53:49

Oh, I definitely think for Susan that... If a lot of singers

0:53:510:53:55

are doing a Christmas album, they're just doing it because, you know,

0:53:550:53:59

it's a good idea to do a Christmas album around Christmas -

0:53:590:54:02

just have record sales - but for Susan, with a strong faith,

0:54:020:54:06

a Christmas album is a very, very special thing.

0:54:060:54:08

Listening to Christmas music

0:54:080:54:09

gives you that feeling of going to the church over Christmas,

0:54:090:54:13

of really believing, you know, the Bible story, the whole thing.

0:54:130:54:16

It means so much more.

0:54:160:54:18

I know for Susan it will be a very emotional album to do.

0:54:180:54:21

Though she's too modest to say it,

0:54:210:54:24

Susan gives lot to charitable causes.

0:54:240:54:27

And perhaps this generosity is because, other than having

0:54:270:54:31

an exceptional talent, she sees herself as an average Joe

0:54:310:54:34

who got a lucky break.

0:54:340:54:36

When you're singing, who are you singing to?

0:54:370:54:40

Who do you picture in your mind?

0:54:400:54:42

It depends on the song, really. The words of the song.

0:54:450:54:49

I think there's one particular song called Proud,

0:54:510:54:56

from the very first album I did, and that song was about conflict...

0:54:560:55:00

And I had a lot of conflict

0:55:020:55:05

from my father...and my mother on certain occasions.

0:55:050:55:10

And when I was singing that song...

0:55:110:55:13

..I was being reflective,

0:55:140:55:16

because I think my parents would've been proud of me now.

0:55:160:55:19

# If I'm allowed

0:55:190:55:21

# One day I'll make you proud. #

0:55:230:55:27

You know, there's a great saying in Scotland.

0:55:320:55:34

There's an old Burns saying of, "We're a' Jock Tamson's bairns",

0:55:340:55:37

which means we're actually all the same.

0:55:370:55:39

You can put on your finery

0:55:410:55:42

and, you know, dye your hair

0:55:420:55:44

and have your hair extensions and your spray tan

0:55:440:55:47

and your new teeth or whatever,

0:55:470:55:49

but actually underneath it all,

0:55:490:55:51

we're a' Jock Tamson's bairns,

0:55:510:55:53

and for me, Susan represents that.

0:55:530:55:56

She is of us, and connects

0:55:560:55:59

at a very, very deep and profound level with people.

0:55:590:56:03

-Looking forward to Christmas?

-Looking forward to Christmas, yeah.

0:56:030:56:06

What's the best present that you would like to receive?

0:56:060:56:09

-I'd like people to, er, just be happy.

-Yeah.

0:56:090:56:13

-Just have a happy... Have a happy day.

-Yeah.

0:56:130:56:17

I interviewed Dolly Parton two or three years ago

0:56:170:56:19

and she has a fantastic faith.

0:56:190:56:22

And she says every morning she wakes up and she says,

0:56:220:56:25

"I put my hand in God's hand and I say - what are we going to do today, God?"

0:56:250:56:29

How would you say your relationship is now with God and Our Lady?

0:56:310:56:34

My relationship's a very good one with God,

0:56:350:56:38

and especially with Our Lady,

0:56:380:56:39

because I feel I've got a second mother.

0:56:390:56:41

I've got a second mother, spiritually, and she, she...

0:56:410:56:45

drives me, she drives me on.

0:56:450:56:47

-Well, I wish you a very happy Christmas, Susan.

-And you too.

0:56:480:56:51

I'm thrilled to have met you.

0:56:510:56:53

-Thank you very much indeed.

-Not at all.

0:56:530:56:55

-Happy Christmas.

-Happy Christmas.

0:56:550:56:56

Susan Boyle. SuBo.

0:56:590:57:02

Someone to laugh at.

0:57:020:57:04

It's very easy to create a description like that.

0:57:040:57:06

And throughout her life, Susan has had people

0:57:060:57:09

underestimating her and hurting her.

0:57:090:57:12

And yet, she bears no malice towards her tormentors.

0:57:120:57:15

Instead, she shares her gift of singing with us

0:57:150:57:18

and requires nothing in return.

0:57:180:57:19

Once people laughed at her. Who's laughing now?

0:57:200:57:23

Next week I meet a journalist

0:57:260:57:28

who has lived his life on the front line.

0:57:280:57:30

BBC World Affairs editor John Simpson talks frankly

0:57:320:57:35

about how his belief in God sustains him

0:57:350:57:38

when reporting from some of the most dangerous places on Earth.

0:57:380:57:42

# You're going to reap just what you sow

0:57:450:57:50

# You're going to reap just what you sow. #

0:57:570:58:02

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0:58:070:58:09

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