Robbie Williams has admitted he was a "really awful" boyfriend to Nicole Appleton

Robbie, who is depicted as a monkey in the Michael Gracey-directed film, told Britain's HELLO! magazine: "The most difficult bit is watching Nicole and what we went through, because she was instructed to get rid of our baby.

"And with that bit of the film, I can go, 'Hey, you did a wrong thing and that's the reason you're going under the bus.' You know?

"But with Nic, I did the wrong thing. It wasn't that bit, it wasn't the abortion - I didn't make her do that - but I was a f****** awful boyfriend, like really awful, and I was in the height of my addiction and alcoholism.

"And it breaks my heart every time I watch it, because she's a complete angel and there's still shame attached to who I was then."

Nicole was consulted on the script and invited to an early screening, and Robbie - who has four children with wife Ayda Field - called her for an emotional chat immediately afterwards.

He said: "As soon as she left the screening, I got straight on the phone with her and FaceTImed her. And we both wept. And then we couldn't stop weeping.

"And then in between weeping, the only thing we could say to each other, which was funny, was 'triggered'. And then back to crying again.

"So I'm looking forward to giving her a hug at the premiere."

The 50-year-old star also sent a copy of the script to his former Take That bandmate Gary Barlow and admitted his pal wasn't particularly happy at first.

He said: "He phoned me up. We're mates now and I love him and our relationship is 95% healed. There'll always be a scar but he loves me and I love him.

"But the first script was different and he phoned me up and went, 'Rob, I can't believe this script. I come off worse than Darth Vader in the first 'Star Wars'.

"I was like, 'Just try to see it from my point of view.' So we did curb a few things."