Zoe Ball reaches out to Robbie Williams after his ‘utterly devastating’ Better Man film

Zoe Ball has reached out to Robbie Williams after watching his much-hyped biopic, Better Man.

The film, which features a CGI monkey as the Take That star, 50, is based on the true story of Robbie’s stratospheric rise to fame, fall from grace and all the bits in between.

Better Man is not released until Boxing Day in the UK, but after bagging a sneak preview, Radio 2 star, Zoe, 54, described it as “utterly devastating”, admitting it had “triggered all sorts” for her. Taking to Instagram, sharing some artwork from the flick, she wrote: Saw “@robbiewilliams film Better Man today. Can’t stop thinking about it. Genius concept. So honest, bombastic, utterly devastating in places, triggering all sorts. Bravo Robbie, @thejonnodavies, Steve Pemberton, Alison Steadman @visualprostitute and team.”

Directed by The Greatest Showman’s Michael Gracey, the film is uniquely told from Robbie’s perspective and follows his journey growing up in Stoke to being the youngest member of chart-topping boyband Take That. It also recalls his time as a record-breaking solo artist – all while tackling the hallucinogenic highs and lonely lows that stratospheric fame and success can bring.

Sounds pretty standard so far, right? Well, what fans may not be expecting is that the biopic is told through the eyes of a chimp. Featuring a CGI monkey, the trailer begins with Robbie saying: “I know what you’re thinking, what’s with the monkey? I’m Robbie Williams, one of the biggest pop stars in the world. But I’ve always thought of myself as a little less evolved.”

The primate, aka Robbie, is seen initially playing football as an infant, before leaping on stage at Knebworth, baring his teeth and telling a packed out crowd “Your a*s is mine!”

Starring Gavin and Stacey’s Alison Steadman and Inside Number 9’s Steve Pemberton, who plays Robbie’s dad, the film is produced by the Angels star and a number of other Hollywood bigwigs.

Better Man debuted at Telluride Film Festival in September and, according to early reviews, paints a similar picture to Robbie’s description of the film after the singer told Rolling Stone UK in 2022 that it would be “blood & guts and drugs and sex and drink and rock and roll and losing yourself and finding yourself”.

Reviewing the flick, IndieWire‘s David Ehrlich wrote: “You will see a monkey bleach its hair. You will see a monkey party with Oasis. You will see a monkey do unreasonable amounts of cocaine, stick a heroin needle in between the fur of its arm, and drive headlong into opposing traffic while shouting a pop song at the top of its monkey lungs.”

Robbie’s unique casting was previously kept under wraps, with director Gracey telling Deadline: “As for how we represent Robbie in the film, that bit is top secret. I want to do this in a really original way. I just want the audience to… think, ‘I’ve never seen this before’.”

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