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show has been viewed almost 2.5 million times on YouTube, and made it on to the news schedules in the United States. Prior to her TV debut Ms Boyle, who is unemployed, spent her days shopping, doing her housework, and occasionally visiting one of her eight siblings. Overnight she has become a national celebrity but is determined not to change.
    “‘I’ve had people recognising me, but I have gone on as normal – I am very down to earth,” she said.
    ‘Her ambition is to see her name in lights in London’s West End. “It is early days yet,” she says, but hints that there may already be a deal in the pipeline. “Baby steps,” she replies, when asked if she has had any offers.
    ‘She believes her age and life experience is her biggest asset: “It gives you faith in your abilities,” she said. “I think I am ready for it.”’

CHAPTER FOUR
M AKING THE
H EADLINES
    S usan Boyle ‘looked like a garage’ when she appeared on Britain’s Got Talent .
    It was a devastating verdict on a middle-aged woman, a cruel comment to make, harsh, uncaring and insulting. It wasn’t even a particularly good simile. Susan was hardly likely to take exception to it, however. She was the person who said it. She had actually watched the show when it was finally transmitted in her council house in Blackburn.
    ‘They say TV makes you look fat and it certainly did. I looked like a garage. It was mortifying to see and a bit of a shock. I didn’t realise I could reduce people to tears and I hope it wasn’t because of that. I’m proud to be part of the show. It really is a dream come true.’
    Then she made a telling remark, similar to ones that many others were to make in the ensuing mayhem, yet all the more insightful given that it was she who was making it.
    ‘Modern society is too quick to judge people on their appearances. There is not much you can do about it; it is the way they think; it is the way they are. But maybe this could teach them a lesson, or set an example.
    ‘What you do is ignore that and get on with your act. You have to. I like the way I am just fine. Why should I change a thing? It is my singing voice that matters first and foremost. I know there has been a lot of talk about the need for change, but my singing is the only thing that matters right now. Appearance is not everything – I am happy with the way I look.’
    By the time she made these remarks, Susan had already received a standing ovation when she walked into her local Catholic church for Easter service. ‘It was incredible. Although we sing in church, not a lot of them knew how good I was, so it was a bit of a shock to them. I’m a bit shy and retiring so they would never have known. It was very emotional. Everyone is very nice and it’s lovely when all the kids stop me in the street to congratulate me.’
    ‘I’ve had people recognising me, but I have gone on as normal – I am very down to earth,’ she said.
    ‘I’ll get used to the fame side of things with baby steps – one step at a time. I am enjoying it very much just now. It’s very good. I’ll take the fame in my stride.’
    She would have to, for now that the initial astonishment at her performance was over, the assessments began.

    In any analysis of Susan Boyle and the impact she made, not just on television or show business but on society as a whole, it is necessary to examine in detail the reaction to her appearance and performance that Saturday evening.
    The media do not always ‘get it right’. In fact, they quite often get it wrong. But that cannot be said to be correct in Susan’s case.
    To be successful, and true to the public, they have to reflect the interests of those who read, watch or listen to them. So the reaction to those few minutes on a Glasgow stage was, in fact, a gigantic echo of the sentiment that was already building up in the public’s mind.
    A Sun writer said in one tribute: ‘I send this message to the one and only Susan Boyle: Don’t sweat it,