Page 3 Profile: Susan Boyle, singer

Susan Boyle (Getty)

Still singing?

Acting, too, as it happens. Boyle has a supporting role in The Christmas Candle alongside Lesley Manville and Sylvester McCoy, amongst others, which is out in the UK on Friday. The 52-year-old plays the wife of a church warden in this biblical flick.

A new career path?

Perhaps; she has said she enjoyed the process and there may well be more roles on the cards with a new found confidence following her announcement she has been diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, after believing she had suffered brain damage at birth.

What does that mean?

Asperger’s is a form of autism which typically means sufferers struggle with their emotions and have difficulty in social situations, often unable to pick up on non-verbal cues. Boyle has had difficulty playing live dates in the past because of anxiety problems which she now believes are as a result of her recently diagnosed condition.

That’s huge...

She said: “At school I was pushed aside as if I didn’t matter, while the brighter pupils got all the attention. I was mocked and bullied. As a result, I spent my whole life in a bubble, felt inferior to others and had problems forming proper relationships.”