Robbie Williams was "shocked" when he found out his good friend Ant McPartlin had entered rehab for prescription drug addiction because he's so "normal."

Robbie Williams

Robbie Williams

The 43-year-old singer - who has had a well-documented battle with drug and alcohol addictions over the years - is pleased to welcome the presenter "into the fold" after he was forced to seek help for his problems earlier this year, but he has admitted he was flabbergasted when he heard the news because he never expected him or his partner Declan Donnelly to ever suffer with mental health issues.

Speaking to The Sun newspaper, Robbie said: "My reality is, you know, your mum's your mum, your dad's your dad and Ant & Dec are really normal. So it was a shock.

"And then when Ant came out with his problem it's sort of like, well A I was worried about him, B that doesn't make any sense because it shocks my reality and three great you can join my club now.

"At my 30th birthday they'd be drinking and I wasn't and I just remember then thinking: 'those are the most normal people in the world, they're not going to have any problems at all with their mental health or with drink or with addiction.'

"And here's Ant 11 years later and I'm glad to welcome him into the fold, I'm not glad that he went through it, I'm not glad that he's suffered or he's suffering."

Ant, 42, returned to the public eye at the end of last month when he reprised his presenting gig alongside Dec on 'I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!'.

Robbie explained: "I've never seen him have so much energy. There's lots of space in the jacket now and I'm really proud of him. I just see his energy and the glint in his eye and I know he's doing really well. I'm really proud of Dec too because that's a marriage and they're both going through whatever that is."

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