Robbie Williams decided to do ‘The X Factor’ because his wife Ayda Field was asked on the show as well.
The 44-year-old singer and the 37-year-old actress have joined the judging panel this year, alongside Simon Cowell and Louis Tomlinson, and Robbie insists it was only the fact the ITV talent show’s producer, Nigel Hall, suggested he could come on board with the ‘Loose Women’ panellist that persuaded him to take on the gig after years of turning the role down.
The ‘Let Me Entertain You’ hitmaker was asked by Dan Wootton in an interview on ‘Lorraine’ on Monday (27.08.18): "What twisted your arm because you have been asked to do every show every year?"
To which Robbie replied: "Genuinely it was the Ayda card. Genuinely. You know, I thought about doing it often but I have been really really busy with my own career and then Ayda got a call in the car from Nigel the producer of the show and said do you think Rob will do it if you do it too?
And instantly, I was like that makes complete sense – I’m totally in."
Robbie admits in hindsight, he’d wished he’d signed up before now.
He said: "Do you know the amazing thing is since starting to do the show – I can’t believe I haven’t done it before!"
It hasn’t been a completely positive experience for the part-time Take That star, as he recently revealed he threw up after being criticised on the programme.
He recalled: "I tried to do the mean judge thing. I said something I thought would be funny, but instead everyone went ‘Oooohhh’."
Ayda added: "I said to him, ‘Robert Peter Williams. Where did that come from? You’re not that person!’"
And Robbie went on: "Then the make-up artist said, ‘Why did you say that?’ And I got so panicked I went upstairs and threw up.
"It’s a big risk, putting yourself on mainstream television every week. For somebody who can put his foot in it – unintentionally – it’s a very scary prospect.
"But fun at the same time. It’s like walking the tightrope, though there’s the fear I’m going to do something that will cause an international incident.
"It’s really important people either really love it and us – or they obsessively hate us. And I want the obsessive haters to watch too."
Robbie and Ayda joined the show in a reported £10 million deal but the star thinks he is "worth more" than he is being paid.
He said: "Do I think I’m worth more? Yes. But I think they got a good deal, and we got a good deal too.
"I was offered Simon’s role on the judging panel of ‘American Idol’, the US version of ‘X Factor’s predecessor, ‘Pop Idol’, when he left, and it was for twice the money I’m on now."
Robbie Williams joined X Factor because of Ayda Field
