Olly Murs superfan's 'surreal' experience with One Show thank you

A woman from Monmouthshire has said she was ‘speechless’ after being recognised for her charity work with a surprise visit from her favourite popstar.

Tracy Rowland, 57, from Magor and Undy, was recently honoured for her hard work setting up her specialist autism charity Ready Set Go in Monmouthshire by the One Show’s One Big Thank You, with the help of her favourite popstar, Olly Murs.

Tracy, a self-proclaimed Olly Murs superfan, first created Ready Set Go after her son Coby was diagnosed with autism and was finding coping with life difficult at eight years old.

Tracy was left 'speechless' after her encounter with Olly Murs (pictured with Cllr Angela Sandles and Cllr Kyle Eldridge) (Image: Cllr Angela Sandles) She said: “We got to the point where nothing was really working for him socially and emotionally, so we set up this club to help him and others like him and their families.

“We give children with learning difficulties such as autism a place to relax and have fun in a safe and understanding environment.

“Since our inception, we are now serving more than 50 families across Gwent, which is amazing.”

Tracy with Cllr Kyle Eldridge in the Ready Set Go sensory room (Image: Cllr Angela Sandles) Tracy’s friends nominated her for the One Show’s One Big Thank You to thank her for all the work she has done to support children in the community.

They organised what Tracy believed to be a meal out at an Olly Murs themed restaurant, something she had been looking forward to for a while, as she spends much of her time with her son.

Upon arriving at the restaurant, Tracy was told there was a phone call for her and it was Olly Murs.

She said: “I thought it was a bit of a belated birthday surprise, and genuinely believed it was just a really good actor when I spoke to him on the phone, so I played along.

“When he then turned up, I still thought it was an actor, until I realised it was really him. I still didn’t realise he was here to see me even when he started talking to me.

“It just seemed so plausible that he would be there promoting the restaurant that I didn’t believe he was there to see me.”

Tracy says the whole evening was “a bit of a blur” after it was revealed what was really going on.

According to Tracy, her friends had been planning this for more than six months and had wanted to make sure Olly Murs was involved as she is a major fan.

Tracy was shocked when Olly Murs came to talk to her (Image: Kin Cheung/PA) She said: “I’ve been to concerts and everything, so to have him involved in all this was just amazing.

“I was completely on cloud nine and I think I’m still in a bit of a state of shock. We even got sent to the concert that night, and he was so lovely.

“I couldn’t quite believe my friends had done all this in secret for me and our little village charity.

“It was all so surreal, and I think other than the births of my children, it was probably the best day of my life.”