Back where he belongs: Robbie said it felt 'magical' to be back in Take That again
Robbie Williams made a nervous return to the band where he made his name, Take That.
The 36-year-old singer made his highly anticipated reappearance with the band in their first live performance as a five piece in 15 years on the X Factor last night.
But while he looked slightly on edge at times, it was thankfully not a repeat of the wild-eyed solo appearance he made on the show last year.
Heralding his return: Robbie was the first bandmember to sing
The Angels singer looked fired up, and slightly nervy as he ditched his trademark dancing for a sober performance.
But midway through the performance, he and band member Mark danced away from their microphone stands as they turned and sang to one another in scenes reminiscent of their 90s heyday.
The spotlight was firmly on the solo star as he sang most of the lead vocals on the band's song The Flood.
However, the comeback was disappointingly for them denied a fairytale flourish as the reformed group were denied the top spot in the singles chart by Rihanna's hit Only Girl In The World.
The Robbie Williams show? Some fans have criticised Robbie's prominence in the band since his return
The former solo artist looked thrilled to be back alongside his friends and bandmates Gary Barlow, Mark Owen, Howard Donald and Jason Orange as they sang their new single The Flood.
Robbie, whose new wife Ayda was watching from the audience, said it was 'absolutely magical, fantastic' performing with the group again after such a long time.
But not all Take That's fiercely loyal fans were pleased to see him back in the spotlight with the group.
His performance was greeted with some criticism by fans on social networking site Twitter.
'So it's Take That back to being the Robbie Williams show....' said littlebead.
Fun and games: Robbie looked he was having fun on stage as he jumped around with Mark
Another Twitter user, iRycee, said the performance was 'more about Robbie than Take That', while mynamesamy_ described Robbie as 'pretty scary', adding: 'I prefer Take That without Robbie!'
Mistajam also criticised the fact that Robbie seemed to take centrestage in the performance, adding: 'Does this feel like Robbie Williams ft Take That to anyone else?'
After their performance, the group talked to host Dermot O'Leary. Barlow said: 'The whole day in the dressing room has been as much fun as being on here.'
Back together: Take That (L-R) Gary Barlow, Jason Orange, Mark Owen, Howard Donald and Robbie Williams perform for the first time in 15 years as a five-piece
However, with their new album Progress coming out today, the quintet have been heavily tipped for No.1 in the album charts this weekend.
Online retailer Amazon.co.uk said yesterday Progress had become the biggest pre-order release of the year.
Julian Monaghan, head of music buying at Amazon.co.uk, said: 'Take That and Robbie Williams have enjoyed significant chart success over recent years but the demand for this first album with Robbie back in the fold is higher than anything that either of them have achieved before.
Rousing: Gary (left) and Mark sing The Flood, which missed out on the No.1 spot in the singles chart yesterday
'It is going to be a massive seller throughout the Christmas period and with the sell-out tour still to follow, it could be at the top end of the music charts for a long time to come.'
On Friday, the group joined Steve Wright to co-present his Radio 2 afternoon show.
Steve asked Robbie if he was 'embarrassed' to be back in the band, considering all the negative things he'd said about them since he left and the feud he had with Gary.
Avid listeners: Simon Cowell, Cheryl Cole, Dannii Minogue and Louis Walsh watched the group from the judging table
But Robbie insisted: 'Nobody said anything bad apart from me, so it's fine.
'We've had two years getting to know each other again. I aired my differences with
Gary when we first had our big meet, he aired his with me and since then, it's fine.
'Since the night we all had a big chat, it (the feud) hasn't been on the table as anything to be concerned with.'
When Steve joked about how well the band were ageing however, Robbie joked that he was already considering anti-ageing plastic surgery.
He laughed: 'I'll have everything done. I'll look like Sylvester Stallone's mum.'
Support: Robbie arriving at the X Factor studios on Sunday evening with his wife Ayda Field
source: dailymail