Robbie Williams says daughter Teddy is ‘so desperate’ to follow in his footsteps

By Carla Feric, Press Association Entertainment Reporter

Singer Robbie Williams has said it is “very cool” that his eldest daughter is “so desperate” to be a performer and follow in his footsteps.

In an interview with BBC Radio 2, Williams, 51 , said the biggest fear of his daughter Theodora Rose “Teddy” Williams, was that she would not be a singer.

Teddy, 13, landed her first major film role last year, in the Christmas film Tinsel Town, as Rebel Wilson’s on-screen daughter.

The singer spoke about his daughter joining him on stage for vocal warm-ups before his concerts, and said: “It is very, very cool.

“Ted in particular is so desperate for ‘it’. Now, when I was growing up in Stoke-on-Trent, I was also incredibly desperate for ‘it’, whatever ‘it’ was.

“Watching Top Of The Pops on Thursday and thinking, how the hell do I get in that box in the corner of this room and be one of those people?

“She sent me a text the other day. It says ‘Dad, what if I’m not a singer? It’s my biggest fear not to be a singer’. Biggest capital letters. ‘What if I’m nothing?'”

Referring to the fact she is the daughter of an award-winning pop star, he said: “I was like, ‘babe, you’re a nepo. You’ll be fine’.”

Williams said he worried about his daughter, and described her as “very sensitive”.

He said: “I am painfully, painfully sensitive. In some quarters it would be deemed as being oversensitive.

“She is worse than me. And I’m worried about what words will do to her.”

He added: “I’m just worried about words, and mean people and – I’m not worried because I can steer her professionally so that’s OK – it’s just everything else that comes with it.

“Besides all of that, it’s a wonderful life and a wonderful job. You get to be creative for a living, and I’m very grateful and incredibly lucky.”

The Rock DJ singer tied the knot with his wife, actress Ayda Field, in 2010, and they have four children.

Williams spoke to BBC Radio 2’s breakfast show about his father attending his show in Newcastle on his recent tour, after being housebound for the past two years because of Parkinson’s disease.

He said: “[My dad] sat in front of the big screen, stage right, in his wheelchair just watching his son, and every now and again I would go back and just check to see what he was doing.

“And every time I’d look at his face he just had this big, proud, beaming smile. And I will take that with me for the rest of my life.”

The NHS website describes Parkinson’s as a condition where parts of the brain become progressively damaged over many years, leading to slow movement and stiff muscles.

Before launching his solo career Williams was part of Take That, who had hit songs including Pray, Everything Changes and Sure.

He left in 1995 and released his chart-topping debut album, Life Thru A Lens, in 1997, followed by a series of number one albums.

The full interview with Robbie Williams will be broadcast on The Scott Mills Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 2 on January 12th, from 8am to 9am.