Janey Cutler on Britain’s Got Talent.

May 13 2010 by Sandra Walls, Hamilton Advertiser

LANARKSHIRE great-grandmother Janey Cutler is set to become an international star after her Glasgow audition was aired on Saturday’s Britain’s Got Talent.

The singing 81-year-old great gran – dubbed the new Susan Boyle (NuBo) – astounded the audience and judges with her rendition of Edith Piaf's ‘Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien’.

A TV audience of 11.7million watched as judges and a 3000-strong audience gave her a standing ovation.

Now US channels, including NBC and CBS, are preparing to beam her into millions of American homes.

Susan Boyle’s audition last year was screened Stateside and turned her into a global superstar.

Just like SuBo (49), Janey – who has seven children and 13 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren – is an unlikely star.

Janey, who received more than 770,000 hits on YouTube, said that she was “over the moon,” just to have been able to perform on the programme.

Performing is all she has ever wanted to do, and she said: “The interest from America is making this experience even more of a dream come true.”

Janey is a regular on the club and pub circuit in her hometown of Wishaw and surrounding districts, including appearances at Hamilton’s Victoria Bar and Motherwell Miners’ Welfare Club.

She appeared on ITV’s This Morning on Monday and was exhausted after travelling from Wishaw to London, where she featured on other shows such as CBS News, and back home again.

Daughter Janice said the whole family was proud of her.

She added: “It was brilliant seeing her on the TV and we’re all really happy.”

Neighbour Edward Kearney said: “She is a very pleasant person, always laughing. She did well on the television.”

Janey’s rendition of ‘Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien’ has been described as one of the most uplifting moments of the current talent search.

Judge Piers Morgan said: “I've never heard anything like it.

“Glasgow was the place we unearthed the great Susan Boyle last year. When Scotland appeared to be heading into its normal abyss of talentless delusion, out stepped a lady of a slightly older vintage who delivered an astonishing, spine-tingling two-minute performance.”

The song choice for Janey sums up her life. She said: “I've had a great life, seven kids, hard times, happy times, no regrets.”

Friend Terry Moore, from Whitehill, added: “She wasn't sure about taking part at first and questioned doing it at her age.

“We think she sounds like Dame Shirley Bassey in her heyday.”

Piers Morgan added: “Janey’s performance is right up there with my favourite moments in BGT history.”

Janey advances to the next round, which will be shown on ITV later this year.