Gary Barlow always “struggled” with Take That’s hunky image

Asked if being marketed as a sex symbol ever bothered him, he told OK! magazine: “We were five – actually I can't include myself in this – but the other guys were four extremely good looking boys.

“As we walked on stage, girls went mad. The madder they went, the more we loved it. We were on the covers of magazines before we had any hits.

“So image and fashion kind of came first for us. I’m be honest, it’s always been an area I’ve struggled with.

“I was never the cool kid at school, I’ve always felt like I couldn’t be trusted to dress myself – I’m just a guy who writes songs and sits in a studio.”

Fortunately, the 49-year-old star felt much more at ease in the spotlight when the group reformed in 2006.

He added: “When Take That came back the second time, it was all about the music, coming back as men, and it felt for more natural for me than it ever did the first time round.”

Gary feels “lucky” that Take That’s fanbase has stayed loyal over the years.

He said: “We’ve been lucky that our audience that were with us the first time around are still with us.

“You go to those gigs and the only thing that has changes is they’ve got their kids with them now.

“It’s lovely to see and I always think other bands must look in envy at our audience because they are so brilliant.

“I always call them The Army – because you don’t want to mess with them. They’re very protective over us.

“But they’re beautiful and we miss them at the moment.”