Robbie Williams has spoken of the “discomfort” and “panic” he feels when he’s approached for photographs and autographs by followers.

In a publish on Instagram, the pop star stated he was capable of “masks” the truth that social interactions frighten him.

He additionally detailed his expertise on a current flight, when he acquired a number of requests for photographs. He stated that he was sleep-deprived on the US home flight when he was approached by a fan who wrote a “beautiful word”, praising his Netflix documentary that detailed his struggles with fame.

“I defined I’d been up since 4.30am, had two hours’ sleep, and wrangled 4 youngsters by means of the airport. I’ve acquired luggage beneath my eyes and I’m coping with nervousness,” he stated. “I defined that in the event that they got here and took a photograph with me, my nervousness would spike – as a result of then the entire cabin would begin questioning who I’m.”

Extra requests got here, with one other passenger sending him a word, and one other making him really feel “obliged” after strolling as much as him and asking outright for a photograph, Williams stated.

He stated: “Each interplay – with strangers and even folks I do know effectively – fills me with discomfort. I masks it effectively. However social interplay nonetheless frightens me. A lot so, I didn’t exit for years. And I needed to do it with out medication or drink.

“I used to seek out it unimaginable. Now I’m … OK-ish. However nonetheless crawling inside. Each time a stranger approaches – and they’re strangers – I panic.”

Williams stated this was “dodgy terrain for a well-known individual to provide context round”, as he felt there was an “unstated legislation: as a star, you ought to be accessible 24/7”.

He added that celebrities had been anticipated to “greet all strangers such as you’re the mayor of the very best city anybody’s ever visited” and “ensure that their needs are met, no matter they’re”, however some folks had been “followers of fame, not essentially of me”.

“Now hear – if we cross paths within the wild and you’re a fan of me, I would like you to inform me,” Williams stated. “Meaning rather a lot. I’ll make time. I’ve acquired gratitude for that. It warms my coronary heart once I really feel I’ve warmed yours.”

He urged followers to provide celebrities the “dignity of their privateness, their desires, their wants”, as he might be “on the cellphone with my mum, speaking round her dementia” or “occupied with my dad’s Parkinson’s”.

Williams, 51, is equal first with the Beatles because the act with essentially the most No 1 albums within the UK, having had 15 chart-topping data. A biopic, Higher Man, was launched final 12 months, during which he’s portrayed with CGI as an anthropomorphic chimpanzee, a touch upon how he looks like a “performing monkey”.

The previous Take That singer has a well-documented historical past of despair, in addition to being agoraphobic, and has been in rehabilitation previously for drug and alcohol abuse.