The 12 moments that made Robbie Williams a national treasure
The cheeky chappy has delighted fans with his impish antics since his days in Take That... here are some of the many reasons why we love him
HEARTS broke across the nation back in July 1995 when Robbie Williams announced that he was leaving Take That.
Girls hugged posters and cried into their Take That bedsheets up and down the country, terrified that this would be the end of their favourite band and, worse still, of Robbie Williams.
Thankfully Robbie wasn’t up for quitting and he came back stronger than ever with a solo career that eclipsed his former band.
Since then he has continued to delight and amuse with 20 years of unpredictable and hilarious antics which, coupled with his musical prowess, have seen him become one of the most popular household personalities.
As he announces his comeback to the stage we run down the twelve moments that saw pop music’s greatest scamp evolve into Britain’s national treasure.
The time he was dropped by Take That so he presented The Big Breakfast for a week
Having already presented the show for a week with the band, Robbie came back on his own in his first TV appearance since the split.
The time he told Liam Gallagher to put his money where his mouth is
Robbie accepted his Brit award for Best British Single in 2000 but instead of thanking his mum and God, he decided to publically challenge Liam Gallagher to a fight.
The time he voiced the thoughts of thousands of men at the Victoria’s Secret catwalk show
In typically honest Robbie style, he just couldn’t keep his thoughts to himself while performing at the Victoria’s Secret fashion show.
The time he gave Simon Cowell a lap dance
Simon is a hard nut to crack but when he got a personal show from Robbie on American TV, he seemed to enjoy it.
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The time he flashed the flesh to “sex bomb” Tom Jones
Never shy about putting on a display, Robbie gave Tom Jones a real eyeful during a joint stage performance.
Every time he sings Angels
The song that melted a thousand hearts, you can’t help but fall in love with Robbie all over again when you hear this classic ballad.
The time he got naked for no reason on comic relief
More casual nudity from Rob as he whipped out the family jewels for this hilarious skit in support of Jack Dee on Comic relief.
The time he gave the people what they wanted and reunited with Take That
It’s the first question we all asked back in 2006 when Take That reformed: where’s Robbie?
But a few years later he put us out of our misery and joined the boys for their album Progress and the tour that accompanied it. And for that moment, all was right with the world.
The time he went crazy in the hospital room to distract his wife from childbirth
Robbie doesn’t reserve his ridiculous antics for the screen, he also shocked some fans and amused others by live tweeting jokes from the hospital as his wife gave birth.
She later said that she found it a great distraction from the pain she was in.
The time he made his wife call him a National Treasure
In an interview with Grazia this year his wife gave us all an insight into daily life with the Williams’.
She said: “He makes me call him ‘the national treasure’ when we’re at home!”
The way he is always encouraging of his old bandmates
Take That is still going strong as a trio and we couldn’t have been happier than when we saw .
The time he brought back those tiger pants for his comeback
This weekend he announced that he would be making an eagerly anticipated return to music.
Within two hours of this announcement he was proving he still knew how to rock the mic (and when he rocks the mic he rocks the mic right) and flashing those famous Rock DJ tiger pants on stage.
Welcome back Robbie.
