Sir Tom Jones backs Robbie Williams to play him in biopic

Sir Tom Jones wants Robbie Williams to play him in a biopic.

The 76-year-old singer has given Robbie, 43, the seal of approval to portray him in a retelling of his life but admitted he would prefer to do the singing himself, despite Robbie’s success with Take That and as a solo artist.

He told The Sun on Sunday: "I said Robbie would be it, maybe it would be better to get an actor. I can always do the voice if needs be so it doesn’t have to be a singer."

Tom also admitted that he has thrown himself into work since the death of his beloved wife Linda last year.

Speaking about seeing a therapist to help him cope, he explained: "She said ‘you’ve got to carry on, if you don’t you’ll die’.

"I’m happier when I’m singing than when I’m not. The only time I’d take time off is when I die."

"When my wife passed away, god bless her, I didn’t know whether I would make it.

"I mean I really didn’t want to sing. My son Mark helped me tremendously, he said ‘you’ve got to sing’ because I didn’t know whether I could."

Speaking previously about the loss of his wife of 59 years, Tom said: "My wife passed away last year and I am still trying to get over that.

"I don’t think if I ever will remarry – the last thing on my mind is marriage."