Elaine Paige to receive special award at 2026 Olivier Awards

Musical theatre titan Elaine Paige will be honoured with the Olivier Awards’ special awards next month.

Actress, singer and presenter Paige is a household name synonymous with musical theatre in the UK, having made her West End debut with Hair in 1968.

She won an Olivier Award for her performance in Evita, having been nominated a total of five times so far.

The news was revealed during tonight’s episode of The One Show on the BBC. The Oliviers said in a statement today: “Paige’s extraordinary career has made a defining contribution to musical theatre. Widely regarded as one of the leading stars of her generation, she has appeared in a remarkable number of smash-hit West End and Broadway productions, helping to shape and set the standard for the modern stage musical, and originating iconic roles such as Eva Perón in Evita, Florence in Chess, and Grizabella in Cats.”

Paige will be honoured at the ceremony on 12 April at the Royal Albert Hall. The nominees for this year’s event, due to be presented by Nick Mohammed, were revealed last week.