Robbie Williams has said that Covid-19 “fed into” his anxiety and he previously convinced himself that he was getting symptoms for the virus.

The singer, 46, said on the (Staying) At Home With The Williamses podcast that he had to self-isolate in a Los Angeles hotel “around the corner” from his family after being advised not to go home after returning from being abroad.

He said that the “psychic attack that comes from the media and the news” and the fact he could not see his family “fed into” his anxiety and made him feel like he was “starting to get the symptoms”.

Graham Norton Show – London
(David Parry/PA)

Williams added: “And I started to panic and I started to worry and in times of severe panic and worry, it’s sort of like, in case of emergency break glass.

“And when I break the glass, I get on my knees and I pray.

“So I sat down and I prayed.”

The singer added that he uses podcasts as a way of distracting himself.

The Band Gala Night – London
(Ian West/PA)

“My mind is not some place that you should go without supervision of an adult,” Williams said.

“And when I am there alone, Radio Rob happens and it is torture so I need something that waylays the torture of me having to listen to my own frigging head.

“So I listen to podcasts.”

He added that he had spent up to six hours a day doing doodles while he was in quarantine away from his family.