Robbie Williams: I was weird and fat, looking at UFOs

Bigger days ... Robbie Williams

TAKE That star Robbie Williams admits his obsession with aliens made people think he is "weird".

The Angels singer, 38, developed a fascination with extra-terrestrial beings after getting "burnt out" by his pop career ten years ago.

But he decided to turn his attention to fashion instead when he realised his hobby was affecting his public image — and made him pile on the pounds.

Speaking about why he launched his clothing label Farrell, Robbie, who is now very buff, said: "Ever since I was 16 all I have been doing is make album, promote album, tour album... and I did that for 20 years.

"Then I got a bit burnt out and I was looking for something else. I thought that something else was making documentaries about UFOs.

"But that wasn't going to work out for me. It just made me weird and — at the time — fat. Weird and fat, looking at UFOs.

Designer ... Robbie Williams has swapped aliens for fashion

"So I thought I would reverse out of this situation, which was a PR nightmare, and my management put the idea of a clothing line to me."

The 38-year-old star — whose wife Ayda Field is due to give birth to their first child in the coming weeks — was ridiculed in the past for his interest in outer space, notably when he claimed a UFO had visited him in his studio right after he penned a track about aliens.

He said: "I had just finished writing a song called Arizona, which is about alien abduction, when there was this glow. It was magic."

Take That ... Robbie and bandmates Howard Donald, Mark Owen, Gary Barlow, and Jason Orange