"You've got to be the boss of the spoons; you can’t be wimpy," says the nanna of two, who gained a legion of fans four years ago after making the final 12 on Australia's Got Talent. "I know that what I do verges on a novelty act, but I’ve got this rhythm in me and it’s great to be able to get it out playing the spoons." It was a nerve-racking and courageous public debut for the gyrating granny, but another more recent performance has shot Deb’s fan base into the stratosphere.

The silverware sensation was asked to lend her thigh-tapping skills to a song by US super group The Black Keys, and the resulting YouTube video has won almost a million fans. "It's all a bit mind-blowing,” says Deb, who loves nothing more than analysing bird calls on her 120-hectare spread. "My girlfriends don't understand what’s happening, so I stir them up by saying, ‘Don’t touch me – I've gone viral!'"

More than 100 emails a day are landing in Spoons' mailbox and, while she reads them all, she admits that spraying weeds and fixing fences often win out over answering fan mail. "I've always thought I had a unique way of playing the spoons, and this is why I think the video clip has worked," explains Deb, who has cracked, flattened and broken more than two dozen dessert spoons.

Read more fascinating true life stories in this week’s Woman’s Day on sale Monday May 28, 2012.