Possibly the most heartwarming and cheerful story around at the moment is the overnight explosion of public support for Susan Boyle, the unlikely hero of Britain’s Got Talent who wowed judges and audience alike with her rendition of Les Miserables ‘I Dreamed a Dream’ last Saturday.

Since then, Susan has been propelled into superstardom – the 48-year-old church volunteer from the former mining village of Blackburn, West Lothian, has now performed via live satellite for the CBS Early Show, NBC, ABC and Dutch TV. She has won the hearts of Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore, as well as being invited to appear on Oprah. Oh yes, and we mustn’t forget the 26 million views of her audition on YouTube. It seems the world is rather taken with this ungroomed, unbotoxed songstress who has harboured her breathtaking talent all her life. Susan stands as a lesson to everyone who thinks that a female performer has to be nipped, tucked and airbrushed into nubile perfection.

It is probably safe to say that when Susan finally auditioned for Britain’s Got Talent, in memory of her mother with whom she lived in West Lothian and who died two years ago, she had no idea she would provoke such public debate. The sceptical reactions of the BGT audience illustrates the obsession with youth and aesthetics in our celeb-saturated society, but Susan has highlighted just how ‘talented’ Britain can be, as well as providing everyone with a tear-jerking media moment.

The Sunday Times published a feature-length interview with Susan – with the sort of fine combed research they reserve for their most celebrated of subjects, whereas the Guardian have been leading coverage of Susan all week – with comment on everything from her media pulling power, the ugly response of the jeering audience and whether she should have a makeover. Of course, the red tops have been pioneering Susan’s cause –with the Sun describing her as having a ‘voice of angel’ and documenting her rise to stardom, and she has even had her first ‘kiss and tell’ (the preserve of any major star) in yesterday’s News of the World.

Susan’s appearance on Britain’s Got Talent is now so much more than just a winning performance, she has proven that the impossible really can happen – that 48 year old, grey-haired women’s dreams can come true, that ambition isn’t only a preserve of the young and that the targets of bullies – both her audience at Britain’s Got Talent and her classmates at school – can have the last laugh.