The former Take That member compares making a documentary about his life journey to suffering from mental illness 'at a very, very slow pace, over a very, very long time.'
- Oct 28, 2023
AceShowbiz - Robbie Williams says making his documentary is like "watching himself in a slow-motion car crash." The 49-year-old pop star- who found fame as a member of Take That in the 1990s and went on to become a massively successful solo artist - has reflected on his rollercoaster career and personal struggles in an upcoming self-titled Netflix documentary and after reliving his trauma for the cameras described the whole process as a nightmare.
"It's like those nightmares where you don't know what's happening and you can't remember anything and you're terrified. It was like that all night. Oh I've got them all! Dyspraxia, dyslexia, ADHD, neurodiversity, body dysmorphia, hypervigilance…," he told The Saturday Times.
"It was like watching a crash you were involved in, but in slo-mo. [Making the documentary] was like enduring your mental illness at a very, very slow pace, over a very, very long time. And it's a niche thing to experience, you know."
"There aren't many support groups for it. When they asked me to make the documentary, I came up with a jingle for it. 'Trauma watch!/ Trauma watch!/ Have a trauma watch!/ I was in Take That then I left Take That/ Then I did drugs and I got real fat.' They didn't use that in the end."
The "Rock DJ" hitmaker went on to describe himself as a "highly sensitive person" as he semingly joked that he is "collecting" various neurodivergent behaviours as if they were Scout badges, "There's a new one that I acquired recently: HSP. Highly sensitive person. Post-traumatic stress disorder [PTSD]."
"And, obviously, I have an addictive personality. I haven't got narcissistic personality disorder or split personality disorder, though. I looked at them last week and, obviously, I chose all the worst options. So if I did have it, I would proudly tell you. But I am collecting them all, like Scout badges."
"Robbie Williams" will be released on Netflix on November 8.
