9 Questions with Gary Barlow

It had been three years since I was last on a TV show, and I knew I wanted a new challenge. So I sat down with creative teams at the BBC and we came up with this idea of having bands battling each other for their place on a brand new West End stage show.

The stage show – it’s been in development for about two years. I’ve been getting more and more experience in theatre and the ultimate goal was to create a West End show using the music of Take That. Together, we’ve got twenty-five years of music that documents our life as a band, and I thought it’d be really nice to see that on stage.

For me, it’s that we’re looking for five young men to work as a team. Children these days aren’t socialising the way they did years ago, they’re on their phones or PlayStations. I want people to watch this show and think “I want to be in that gang!” Let It Shine will remind people of the strength and success of working together. We definitely need some team spirit right now, that’s for sure.

As a judge, to be sat there promising these young kids they’re going to be a star or whatever, I don’t even know what that means anymore. So to give them a job is something everyone can understand. This isn’t an easy job either. The contract is for twelve months, eight shows a week!

Martin was in my favourite boyband as a kid. I used to go to the shop with 50p and I’d either buy a Duran Duran record or Spandau Ballet. I used to dress like him so getting him was important to me because one, he was in the original boyband, and two, he has acting skills which I don’t have. So he would be perfect to give critique.

Dannii’s got a relationship with Take That – when we first started, she was doing her pop career too, so we’ve known her for a long time, and I thought she was brilliant on The X Factor. For our contestants, it’s great to have someone on the panel that’s so good at spotting talent.

Amber brings a fresh perspective to the panel – she doesn’t know who Take That are! We’re not looking for a tribute act and we don’t want lookalikes, so she comes at it completely fresh. I mean, she’s only been to the UK a couple of times before, so it’s exciting.

I think we’ve got the chemistry right on this show. I didn’t want it to be a pantomime, I wanted the judges to be making good critiques. If they’ve got nothing to say then they don’t say anything!

Maybe! Try to keep me off that stage!