Take That review – could it be TV magic? Yes!

T​his fantastically enjoyable romp about the boy band covers the highs, the oiled thighs and the chainmail codpieces. But why does Gary Barlow twiddle his bandmates’ earlobes so much?

‘I don’t like cauliflower cheese,” says Howard Donald (57), prodding at a hillock of cheddar-festooned florets as he tackles an otherwise inoffensive backstage repast during Take That’s 2024 stadium tour. Gary Barlow OBE (55) is aghast. “You don’t like cauliflower cheese?” he splutters between mouthfuls of pie. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Cheesy,” mumbles his carefully bearded bandmate. “It’s too cheesy.”