Robbie Williams discusses his depression and 'deep anxiety'

Robbie Williams has reflected on the mental health battles he faced at the height of his fame.  

The singer, 47, discussed the struggles he faced with depression and anxiety after landing a spot in Take That at the age of 16. 

Speaking to Chris Difford, 66, on his I Never Thought It Would Happen podcast, the 18-time Brit Award winner divulged into his own experiences with depression and anxiety with the Squeeze bandmember.

Robbie said he couldn't enjoy his career despite being given a 'golden ticket' at the age of 16 when he was chosen to be in the superstar band Take That. 

He admitted: 'I couldn't jot down one nice thing about myself.

'I hated myself... the high bits [of my career] were married with a really, really dark depression and deep anxiety. And none of it was enjoyable.

'The fact that none of it was enjoyable made me deeply unhappy because I'd been given the golden ticket. This isn't an uncommon story.' 

After notoriously exiting the five-piece in 1995, he thought he would be playing at Knebworth, where rival band Oasis had performed to a 250,000-strong crowd.

The issue was that the Staffordshire-born singer hadn't even written a song by that point. 

Becoming visibly emotional, Robbie spoke of his overconfidence as he decided to embark on a solo career.

Despite wanting to be like Radiohead, Oasis and Blur, he described himself as more of a 'cabaret act' and couldn't help but be 'musical theatre'.

Robbie praised his wife for creating stability in his life and claimed family life is a 'different level'. 

The Rock DJ hitmaker began dating actress Ayda Field, 42, in 2006 and they welcomed their first child, Theodora, eight, in 2012.

They are also proud parents to Beau, one, Colette (Coco), two, whom they welcomed via surrogate and son Charlton Valentine Williams, six.

The I Never Thought It Would Happen podcast series, from the charity Help Musicians, features the likes of Sting, Billy Bragg, Yungblud and Tom Odell shining a light on the highs and lows musicians face.

The full episode is available from all the major podcast providers now. 

Reference: Callum Wells For Mailonline