Robbie: really good at being a popstar
Robbie Williams is at loggerheads with X Factor judge Gary Barlow, after praising Rylan Clark ahead of this weekend’s contest.
Robbie, 38 – due to appear on Sunday night’s results show – held masterclasses with contestants this week and lavished more time on Rylan than anyone else.
And he even joked with the 24-year-old singer that Gary, 41, must “fancy” him.
He told him: “I am a big, big fan.”
Then, speaking on camera to fellow Take That star Barlow, he added: “Gaz, I don’t know what this young man has done to offend you so much.
“And I don’t understand how you are missing the obvious brilliance and talent of Rylan, but I am not. I am strictly Team Rylan all the way.”
Then he dubbed his pal “Gary Bore-low” and told Rylan: “You have got me in your corner now.
“I want to see you on TV an awful lot and I want to bump into you backstage at places and say, ‘Hey, how are you doing?’
"The world is your oyster right now and it’s going to be interesting to see just where you take it. Don’t f*** up.”
A show source told the Mirror Robbie had also been texting Barlow this week, saying how good Essex-based Rylan is and how he will outlast some of Gary’s remaining contestants on the show in the Overs category.
The source added: “Gary and Robbie are at loggerheads when it comes to Rylan.
"Robbie has lavished a lot of his time on him – more so than anyone else. Let’s hope they are still talking on Sunday night.”
In tonight’s show Gary’s singer Kye Sones is performing Robbie’s track Let Me Entertain You.
Gary told the Mirror: “This takes me back to a funny place in my life.
“I was incredibly jealous of Robbie’s career when he released this song, so he was my least favourite person in the world at that point.”
Last week Robbie upset Gary by tweeting that he was “Team Rylan” after the Essex singer’s performance.
Gary admitted his anger on Sunday night’s show, after host Dermot O’Leary brought it up.
He said: “Twenty years of knowing each other and it’s all over in five letters.”
Punters are torn over who will leave the show this weekend, with bookies offering odds of 7-2 on Rylan and Christopher Maloney.
Ella Henderson continues to lead the betting to win outright.
The 16-year-old is the big favourite, at 10-11, to bag the 2012 crown.
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