Robbie Williams: I was a jerk to Gary

Robbie Williams has admitted he still feels guilt over the way he treated Take That bandmate Gary Barlow during the band's most turbulent years, revealing to fans that he has apologised "a million times" for the behaviour that fuelled their long-running feud.

The 51-year-old singer reflected on the period depicted in the Netflix documentary series about the band Take That.

Robbie and Gary's relationship deteriorated significantly in the mid-1990s, at a time when Take That was at the height of its commercial success. Robbie, then the youngest member of the group, often clashed with Gary over creative control and direction of the band.

By 1995, tensions had escalated to the point that Robbie left the group just weeks before their farewell tour, leaving Gary as the main frontman.

What followed was one of the most public conflicts in British pop history.

Throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s, Robbie openly mocked Gary, 55, in numerous interviews. He also released the song "Ego a Go Go," which directly alludes to their feud.

Gary, on the other hand, remained largely silent, but later admitted that the split had "devastated" him and left him in a difficult personal and professional state.

The two of them had hardly spoken for over ten years.

The reconciliation began in the late 2000s, when Robbie, during a period of personal introspection and recovery, reconnected with Gary. By 2010, they had publicly reunited for the Progress era, writing and performing together for the first time since the 1990s. Both men later spoke about the emotional weight of the reconciliation, with Robbie publicly admitting on several occasions that he had caused Gary pain.

Speaking about the documentary series, Robi said:

"What a jerk I was in the second episode. The most smug person who ever lived. Gary Barlow was supposed to be the bad guy, but I was actually a f**king mean guy. I was awful and a complete idiot. It's not pretty to watch now, but it was f**king fun back then."