Robbie Williams joins Steve Bracknall as first celebrity guest on Game’s Gone Podcast
South Yorkshire personality Steve Bracknall has welcomed his very first celebrity guest to his podcast - global pop icon Robbie Williams.
The self-appointed saviour of grassroots football talks all things footie with the Take That star, like the finer points of losing your hair and ranking how tough his former bandmates are.
Made famous through videos on social media - with an audience of more than a million followers - Bracknall is the fictional assistant manager of spoof grassroots football team Royal Oak FC, that act out the thrilling highs and heartbreaking lows local players experience.
In November, he launched his cult comedy BBC Sounds football podcast Game’s Gone to bring his wisdom to the masses.
In a chaotic interview, Robbie dives into everything from hair loss and backstage rituals to the long-running Take That and Oasis rivalry.
The full episode is available to listen to now on BBC Sounds. The visual episode also premiered on the Game’s Gone: The Steve Bracknall Podcast YouTube channel on December 11.
In a hilarious segment, Robbie ranked the toughness of his former bandmates: “Well, we can start off with Mark Owen right at the bottom… Because he's just like at the side going, "Stop it lads, it's not worth it." But it is worth it.
“Cause now you’ve got Gary Barlow who was Britain’s youngest black belt, which is true.”
“Howard Donald, before Take That, panel beater by day, ballroom dancer by night. You've got lithe dexterity mixed with man strength.”
“He's a brute. Then you've got Jason Orange from Wythenshawe.”
And when asked if he’d be number one, Robbie said: “Yeah… Then it's Howard, then it's Jason, then it's Gary, then it's Mark Owen.”
“I've got to back myself in this…I'm also the tallest in Take That. Nobody knows that. Nobody knows that, that I'm six foot one.”
“Even I don’t believe me, but I’m going with it.”
Each episode draws parallels between the glitz of the Premier League and the chaos of the Sunday leagues, reminding fans what football is really all about, as Steve is joined by first team manager Paul Sampson and club physio Bob the Bucket.