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Robbie Williams famously quit Take That in 1995, leaving his legion of teen fans devastated after his drug addiction spiralled out of control. He went on to have several stints in rehab, including one in 2007 when he was be treated for his ­addiction to the prescription pills Xanax, Seroxat and Vicodin.

In 2013, he revealed that he would buy his daughter drugs when she grows up – to make sure she takes the “best possible”. Talking about fatherhood, he reportedly said:

“I doubt she’ll be like me. Touch wood, and follow that with a lot of love and a lot of luck, she won’t go there or have to go there. If unfortunately that does happen, I’ll know what to do. Which is make sure she’s got the best drugs possible – and take them with her.”

The singer, who married actress Ayda Field in 2010, has been previously chastised by his wife for being irresponsible and urged to curtail his ‘playstation’ activities; all of which leads to that ever central question : Do men ever grow up?

Women inevitably want a partner and friend. They need someone they can talk to, and not just at; seemingly finding the growing up process less of a problem than their male counterpart. They devote most of their childhood in preparation for womanhood; my eldest granddaughter loves her doll’s house, and baking cakes with my wife. When she was only three, she could solve my iPad problems for me – a sure sign that I’d truly reached the end of the technological road.

Men, on the other hand, find the transition to adulthood fraught with problems. Maturity is often foisted upon them by female partners and offspring, the path to full emotional retardation waylaid by previously unforeseen demands. Hopeless and hapless, they enter middle age as boys with grey hair, or no hair at all.