Robbie Williams became a household name in 1990 when he joined Take That, and he has dominated television screens, Spotify Wrapped stats and the front page of newspapers ever since \u2013 but at what cost?<\/p>\n
The new self-titled documentary set out with a mission to unfurl the pop icon, from the 16-year-old cheeky Take That band member to the entertainer he is today. And it has done just that.<\/p>\n
Quite simply, Robbie Williams<\/a> sits in front of a laptop watching never-before-seen footage of his years rising to stardom, but it is so much more than that. From tough topics such as addiction and mental health struggles, the four-part series shows audiences just who Robbie Williams is in his own words.<\/p>\n Filming over 45 days, the documentary is a rollercoaster, with the first episode looking back on Williams\u2019s time in Take That and the toll it took on him being shot to fame before he was barely an adult. Viewers see Williams first deal with the fame attached to his name \u2013 something he says himself became \u201ctoo much\u201d at times.<\/p> While admitting it was \u201cfun\u201d being in Take That, nothing prepared him for what was to come. Told through a mixture of shots of the archived footage and Williams watching it back, you begin to see the stress the levels of fame created.<\/p>\n I couldn\u2019t help but feel sympathy for him when he said: \u201cExternally, I\u2019m sure I would\u2019ve been full of bravado and trying to look as through I think I\u2019m the man. But it was a complete dunking into the grown-up world that I wasn\u2019t ready for.\u201d<\/p>\n Noting how \u201crelentless\u201d the workload of being in a band as big as Take That<\/a> was, we soon see, as Williams describes, the \u201cwheels\u201d coming off and his departure from the band.<\/p>\n As director Joe Pearlman told RadioTimes.com<\/a>, there is \u201cnothing normal\u201d about being famous. Whether it be having 100,000 people screaming your name at you in a crowd, having the world give their opinion of you without really knowing you.<\/p>\n When Williams teams up with Guy Chambers and creates his first album, Life Thru a Lens, it seems everything is on track, but the singer is still battling his own demons.<\/p>\n It made me realise that most of us are completely na\u00efve to the fact that celebrities are real people too, even though it can be easy to blur the lines because of their privileged lifestyle compared to ours, and this documentary gives an insight into the human Robbie Williams, rather than the entertainer we have grown up listening to over the years.<\/p>\n As I watch through the documentary, all in one sitting, I\u2019m stopped in my tracks during Robbie Williams\u2019s Close Encounters tour.<\/p>\n As the episode begins and Robbie gets ready to watch the footage, he tells the camera:\u00a0\u201cI\u2019m about to watch somebody having a nervous mental breakdown.\u201d<\/p>\n Read more:<\/strong><\/p>\n When Williams takes the stage at Leeds all seems well, until he comes offstage following the encore. Williams tells the cameras: \u201cI came off for the encore and I never wanted to go back onstage ever again.<\/p>\n \u201cI couldn\u2019t speak and I kept shaking and I went, \u2018I was going through trauma\u2019. We got back to the hotel and everybody\u2019s world ended. I just couldn\u2019t feel anything other than guilt.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s clear things became all too much for the singer, yet the overbearing guilt of affecting everyone else is what hangs over him.<\/p>\n Within the archived footage, Williams admits the fame is getting too much, something he describes as \u201cunnatural and unreal\u201d.<\/p>\n The documentary makes it vividly clear how difficult it can be for someone to be thrust into stardom, especially at an age as young as 16.<\/p>\n As director Joe Pearlman told RadioTimes.com<\/strong>: \u201cI think that that sort of says it all about celebrities doesn\u2019t it? We expect you to be happy and because you have the privilege, the money, the house, the cars and the fandom. There\u2019s nothing normal<\/span> about that.<\/p>\n There\u2019s nothing normal<\/span> 100,000 people standing in front of you screaming your name back at you. There\u2019s nothing normal<\/span> about that. Nothing about that. So imagine what that does to a person.\u201d<\/p>\n In the docuseries, we see a happy young lad whose life gets completely turned upside down, something not every 16-year-old can say they have experienced, and it could serve as a very big warning for those vying for fame.<\/p>\n The final episode, titled Cut The Circuit, present day Williams says he is \u201coff the wagon\u201d in one piece of footage, but slowly moves onto his saving graces \u2013 Ayda Field<\/a> and Take That<\/a>.<\/p>\n The episode features an interview with Field, who describes the moment she met Williams, their subsequent split and the moment he realised she was the one.<\/p>\n While many people only see Field and Williams as a celebrity couple, the documentary highlights how much they are there for one another.<\/p>\n Once Williams left rehab in 2009, he travelled the world with Field and his friends, and realised he had found someone he felt he could be in a relationship with. They were married a year later.<\/p>\n \u201cShe sees the best in me and I see the best in her,\u201d Williams tells the camera.<\/p>\n Another touching moment in the documentary is in episode 4, where Williams looks back on his reunion with Take That.<\/p>\n With all feuds a thing of the past, the bandmates all reunite for a tour that many people, including Williams, will never forget.<\/p>\n \u201cI felt like pop star Robbie Williams and rejoining Take That was a vitally important part of my journey to where I am now,\u201d He said.<\/p>\n While I wish there were more episodes of Williams\u2019s journey with Take That, director Joe Pearlman offers a valid point.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been able to distil and make a really important story that doesn\u2019t feel long and that feels immersive and feels like you\u2019re really part of one\u2019s journey as you go through it. Which may have suffered slightly if it was longer if we did more,\u201d he told RadioTimes.com<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The documentary captures an entertainer who only wants to do right by his fans and those around him, all while dealing with his own demons.<\/p>\n Told in his own words, Williams controls the narrative of his life, which has been spoken about by millions for years. And while it\u2019s dark, a difficult watch at times, it\u2019s essential viewing to gain perspective on how fame and stardom isn\u2019t all it\u2019s cracked up to be.<\/p> ![\"Robbie](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/11\/RobbieWilliams-927c28b.jpg?quality=90&crop=39px%2C0px%2C3235px%2C2155px&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"Robbie")
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