The 40-year-old singer - who is joined in the band by Gary Barlow, Mark Owen, Howard Donald and Robbie Williams - admitted his time in the group constantly took from him, and he is now "on guard" about the five-some reuniting for the first time since Robbie quit Take That in 1995.

He explained: "I think every person's job either feeds them or takes from them. Take That, for me, the first time, took from me. It gave me money, it gave me a standard of living, but it robbed me of my voice.

"To come back as an older adult, on my guard and a bit wiser, I know it sounds melodramatic but it's like there's this thing up there, and we all give to it and get back from it, and it shines into us, and we can all grow from it - or it will just rob us again, and we'll leave, with all this sh*t that we didn't say or do."

Meanwhile, Robbie - who quit Take That in 1995 amid a public feud with Gary Barlow - explained the band have been "grown-up" about the reunion.

He added to Culture magazine: "You see how many bands can't reunite after a falling out and then still do it. The when-hell-freezes-over sort of thing with the Eagles etc.

"Basically, we were all grown-ups about our sh*t, and owned it. If you own your own sh*t, you can move on. And we all did. From me and Gary having a proper chat, to then instantly falling into each other's arms and rolling about in my kitchen, laughing, was a moment in my life I will never forget."