Robbie Williams’s tale is one of tabloid vitriol, but our dark obsession with celebrity lingers still | Elle Hunt

Netflix’s new documentary delivers on its promise of presenting Robbie Williams as you’ve never seen him before, and not just in showing the era-defining cheeky chappy, now rounding on 50, mostly in bed, lounging around in his pants. Its director, Joe Pearlman, brings together hours of behind-the-scenes archival footage, much of it never seen by Williams, and screens it to him on his laptop for his response.

One of the more harrowing clips is a video diary recorded by Williams in 2007. It shows him apparently alone, drug-addled and reading online commentary aloud. “‘Robbie Williams is music