Susan Boyle's idol Elaine Paige has launched an astonishing attack on the Scottish songstress calling her ' a virus who has spread across the world in a nanosecond.'

"I don't particularly feel any pride for her - I'm sure she is proud of what she has done," Paige stated.

“It's all about turning someone into an immediate celebrity at the expense of longevity and working hard and experience.

“Susan Boyle is doing terribly well considering she literally came to the attention of the world overnight with the advent of YouTube.”

She said to the Daily Mail: “She was like a virus really that spread across the world in a nanosecond.

“She is a girl with no experience of anything to do with theatrics, the music business, or art in any way.

“She has done terribly well to be a major star overnight with YouTube.”

Boyle performed with Paige at Christmas and was deeply moved by the experience.

Boyle said: “I never thought I would see myself standing on the same stage with such an icon from West End theatre, let alone singing with her as an equal.”