Williams: 'X Factor' gig was rubbish'

Robbie Williams has admitted that he was surprised by the reaction to his performance on The X Factor.

Williams, who performed his single 'Bodies' on the show, was later forced to deny rumours that he had been taking drugs beforehand.

Speaking on Dermot O'Leary's Radio 2 show, he said: "You saw how mental the audience were. When you came over to interview me I was so elated and happy about the response that I'd got from the audience. I got the temperature of the performance a bit wrong - I thought I had to do a whole gig in three-and-a-half minutes.

"I was so excited that I'd done it. I came off stage, you were asking me a few questions. I can't even remember what you asked, I was that high - I mean, not literally high. On life. Came off stage, high-fived my manager and my girlfriend and my dad. Ran over a paparazzi [sic] - brilliant.

"And then I didn't realise it had been deemed a really bad thing... every review of the album it was like, 'After a career-threatening performance on The X Factor...' I was like, 'Christ, was I really that bad?'"

He concluded: "I'd love to be able to blame drugs on it but I was rubbish all by myself."