Unmarried women in their forties, with false teeth and tousled hair, aren’t usually held in the highest esteem by our society. The feeling seemed to be that if I could be a success then anyone could!

I was always musical – yelling when I was a baby, singing into a brush and singing in the shower.

The one’s who were mean to me are now nice to me.

Singing for royalty is a dream of mine – I’d absolutely love to sing for the Queen at the Royal Variety Show. All the contestants are very good. I will just have to do my best and see what happens.

It was my Mum who got me into singing properly – she knew I had to do something with my voice because she knew I was talented. She was the one who pushed me into joining a choir all those years ago, when I was about 12. I remember she told me to start with the choir and just see where it took me.

As long as I don’t break the camera, I’ll be fine.

I’m so proud of my son for being so funny!

My singing silenced the bullies, but better than that, it silenced the demons inside me. When you’re jeered at, told to shut up, sit still, stop being silly, there’s a cacophony of noise rolling around in your head. When I was singing, it was peaceful.

Asperger’s doesn’t define me. It’s a condition that I have to live with and work through, but I feel more relaxed about myself. People will have a greater understanding of who I am and why I do the things I do.

There are enough people in the world who are going to write you off. You don’t need to do that to yourself.