Boyle is like a slumdog millionaire himself: Ex-neighbour

Danny Boyle, the son of a weaver, rose from rags to riches in a way similar to the hero of his Oscar-nominated film Slumdog Millionaire, says the woman who was his next-door neighbour when he was born in the Manchester suburb of Radcliffe.

The Oscars ceremony is scheduled for Sunday night (Monday morning in India). Slumdog Millionaire, a movie set in Mumbai, has 10 nominations and is tipped to win more than one of the prestigious Academy awards.

"To look at where he has started from to where he is now, it is amazing — a real 'Slumdog Millionaire' rags-to-riches story," the neighbour, Sandra Lockett, said, according to thesun.co.uk. "Now it would be nice to see him round it off with a lovely golden Oscar or two for all his hard work. We are all rooting for him and he really deserves it."

Lockett said no one could have imagined Boyle's success. "I can't believe little Danny from Holland Street has become this major player in Hollywood. I have to pinch myself when I watch him on TV and think the boy's done good."

Lockett remembers the day Boyle and his twin sister came home for the first time after they were born. "I remember Mrs Boyle coming home with these two lovely babies. She was so proud of them and there was a real buzz on the street.

"The Boyles were a really quiet, hard-working family. I know they scrimped and saved all they could to give their children the best of everything. They were a very religious family and went to the Catholic church two or three times a week.

"Danny's dad worked in one of the local mills as a weaver. He always worked hard so he could give his family the best. It has really paid off."

The director's twin Maria Boyle said: "It is absolutely fabulous how far Danny has come. He has been working in this field since he left university 30 years ago. We knew about the Oscars when we were kids, but it wasn't somewhere you thought you would be. You don't think, 'One day that's where Danny will be'."