Robbie Williams Addresses Drug Use Claims Made by Former Take That Manager in New BBC Documentary

Robbie Williams has penned an open letter to former Take That manager Nigel Martin-Smith, following claims he made regarding Williams’ past drug use in new BBC docuseries Boybands Forever.

Both the British pop icon and Martin-Smith appeared as talking heads in the first installment of the three-part series, which aired on Saturday (Nov. 16). The episode focused on the mental and financial struggles that members of Take That, East 17, A1 and Damage dealt with at the height of their popularity. 

Martin-Smith managed Take That in the 1990s when Williams was a member of the group, before the latter quit in 1995 and went on to launch an enduring, successful career as a solo act. Across three decades, he has gone on to earn 13 No. 1s on the U.K Albums Chart and 18 BRIT Awards, including the prestigious BRITs Icon accolade in 2017.

In the documentary, Williams addresses his history of drug use, saying that at one point he was made out to be “evil.” Martin-Smith goes on to say that the singer was “smart and quite clever” to blame his issues on being “in this band where he couldn’t have girlfriends or couldn’t go out.”

Williams also responded to these assertions via a lengthy statement posted to Instagram on Nov. 17. “I was equal parts terrified and excited to be sharing a screen with you again,” he said, addressing Martin-Smith. “Excited to see where we both are on this journey and terrified in case old emotions would be triggered and I’d still be in a place of anger, hurt of fear.

“As it happens, it would appear that time has done its thing and I guess the wisdom it brings has taken its mop to a few nooks and crannies here and there. I guess not every nook has been bleached, though.”

He then highlighted Martin-Smith’s comments about his drug use at the time. “My response to the warped world that surrounded me is solely my own. How I chose to self-medicate is and was something that I will be monitoring and dealing with for the whole of my life,” Williams wrote. “It’s part of my makeup and I would have the same malady had I been a taxi driver. I just got there quicker due to having the finances while trying in vain to counteract the turbulence of pop stardom’s matrix-bending washing machine.”

Encouraging Martin-Smith to take accountability for some of the struggles Take That faced behind the scenes, Williams continued: “Everyone will understand and appreciate that level of self-reflection. It’s OK to admit your shortcomings. No one is going to sue you for not knowing or understand[ing] the psychological effects everything was having on everyone.”

Martin-Smith has not yet responded to Williams’ open letter.

Williams’ comments follows a similar post he made about the late Liam Payne, remarking that boy bands need sufficient emotional support and that there needs to be a push for something to be “done in his name to make things better.” The One Direction star died after falling from the third floor of a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Oct. 16.

Shortly after Payne’s death, a petition was launched calling for a new law to safeguard the mental well-being of young artists. It has currently received more than 149,000 signatures.

Elsewhere, the compilation soundtrack to Williams’ biopic Better Man will be released on Dec. 26 in the U.K. and Ireland, and on Jan. 17 in the U.S. and Canada. Featuring his greatest hits, Better Man will tell the story of Williams’ life from his childhood in Stoke-on-Trent, England, through to his fame with Take That and subsequent solo career. Williams will be played by a CGI monkey throughout the film directed by Michael Gracey (The Greatest Showman).

Through summer 2025, Williams will embark on a lengthy tour across the U.K. and Europe, including a night at London’s 60,000-capacity Emirates Stadium. Support will come from Warrington rock band The Lottery Winners, as well as Rag ‘N’ Bone Man on select dates.