A PENSIONER was left in total shock after her singing idol Michal Bolton have her a shout out on national television and invited her to his concert.

Gladys Smith, from Colchester, has always loved the pop rock singer and has wanted to meet him for years.

Staff at Milton Lodge Care Home in Colchester, where Gladys, 82, lives with her husband, Dick, 85, wanted to make it happen.

They bought her a life-size cardboard cut out of the star and made it their mission to get him to send her a personalised message.

Her dream came true when the care home found out Michael Bolton would be touring in the UK in October.

He appeared on ITV’s Lorraine show to announce the tour.

Gazette:

What Gladys did not know was the care home had arranged for Michael to give her a shout out while he was on air.

Presenter Lorraine Kelly told Michael he had a huge fan base in the UK and showed a video of Gladys receiving her cardboard cut out.

She said it would made Gladys’ day if he could say hello to her.

Michael then said: “Gladys, how are you? I’m very happy to hear you are a fan and I really want you to come to my concert.

“I know you have friends here at the show and you can come as my guest, bring a friend and I will meet you after the show.”

Gladys’ daughter Maxine used to take her to all his concerts and she proudly wears her Michael Bolton t-shirt.

Internationally-known singer Michael originally performed in the hard rock and heavy metal genres from the 1970s to the mid 1980s, both on his early solo albums and those recorded as the frontman of the band Blackjack. His best known songs include Said I Loved You, But I Lied and the Hercules classic Go the Distance.

Kate Perkins, from Milton Lodge, filmed Gladys’ reaction as she was taken down to the living room to watch her favourite singer on the show.

She said: “Gladys was just over the moon, she knew that Michael was on the TV but she didn’t have a clue about the message.

“We had been in contact with people behind the scenes. She was in a little bit of shock but she was so excited and happy.”

In the video Gladys is with her husband, Dick, a Shirley Bassey fan, and care home staff, who cheer and clap when Michael appears on the screen.

Gladys holds her hands over her mouth in shock as she hears Michael’s message. After the show staff asked her how the message made her feel.

Gladys said: “It was lovely, I feel really happy.”

She was wearing her Michael Bolton lanyard chain especially for the show.

While speaking to Lorraine, Michael said it was crazy how many fans he has engaged with.

He said: “I have amazing fans here, I sometimes have a really chatty audience which I encourage as they say the funniest things.”

And while Dick is not so much of a fan, he said he was pleased to see his wife looking so happy and was sat next to her as she watched the message.

Michael Bolton will be performing in Southend on October 23 as well as other venues.

To see the video, go to www.gazette-news.co.uk.