Olivia Dean receives surprise Elton John call on Wales camping trip

Singer Olivia Dean has revealed she was cooking sausages and beans on a camping trip in Wales when she was star-struck by a call from Sir Elton John, telling her he was proud of her.

The Man I Need singer, who has picked up a string of award nominations in recent months, was enjoying a trip away in Pembrokeshire when her team gave her the heads up she might receive a call from the British music legend.

Despite initially declining the unexpected video chat, Dean got another chance to speak to Sir Elton, who told her "I'm really proud of you".

The 26-year-old's soulful album The Art of Loving saw her rise to fame last year, and Sir Elton told her he thought she was "ready now".

Dean was asked about the "starry feedback" while appearing on The Graham Norton Show last week.

"I was on a camping trip in Wales, in Pembrokeshire, and I was cooking sausage and beans on a little gas stove," she said.

"Someone from my team said 'you might get a phone call from Elton John today' and I said 'oh gosh'."

But Dean nearly didn't get to speak to the star, as she declined his first call in a panic.

"It rang and it was a FaceTime and I said 'no - I'm not ready'," she recalled, as fellow chat show guests Idris Elba, Martin Freeman, Erin Doherty and Wunmi Mosaku laughed.

"Then I was like, 'oh no, I should have picked up... I've missed it'."

But Sir Elton called back, and told her: "I'm really proud of you, and it looks like you've worked really hard and you're ready now."

She added: "I just said thank you, and then I collapsed on the floor [like a] starfish."

London-born Dean recently topped the Mobo award nominations list for album of the year, as well as best female, best soul act and song of the year.

It comes off the back of an extremely successful year for Dean, who has also been nominated for a Grammy Award and five Brit Awards.

Her first number one single, Man I Need, topped the UK singles chart for 10 weeks and was named Radio 1's biggest song of the year for 2025.

According to the Official Charts Company, Dean was also the first British solo female artist to top both the singles and album charts at the same time since Adele in 2021.

Norton said Sir Elton "loves the phone", while Golden Globe-winning Adolescence actor Erin Doherty quipped back "I wouldn't have picked up".

Dean said the British icon "has everybody's number".

"Not mine," replied actor Wunmi Mosaku, who has received an Oscar supporting actress nomination for her role in 2025 horror film Sinners.

Dean isn't the first star to speak out about receiving uplifting and supportive calls from Sir Elton.

The Your Song singer reportedly called Squeeze guitarist Chris Difford every day while he battled depression and addiction, while Ed Sheeran has previously spoken about Sir Elton checking in with him regularly during the Covid-19 pandemic.