Gary terrified of ballet pumps

Celebrities are delicate creatures, often prone to peculiar phobias - but the one with the weirdest fear of all is Take That's Gary Barlow.

While Madonna is freaked out by storms, Heidi Klum is plane terrified of flying, Orlando Bloom has a pig phobia and Rupert Grint is scared of spiders, Gary has a thing about... ballet pumps.

Yes, at 37 years of age Gary has developed an unhealthy aversion to the flat footwear - and banned people from wearing them backstage during the band's Circus tour.

He saw one performer wandering around in the pumps - Amy Winehouse's shoe of choice - and put his foot down.

Says our mole: "Gary can't stand the sight of ballet pumps. It may sound odd but he cannot bear them.

"He thinks they're incredibly unflattering. In his eyes, even the most attractive woman in the world would be pug ugly if she was wearing pumps.

"At one of their recent after-show parties, a dancer was kicking back in some pastel ballet pumps, and Gary had to leave the room.

"His wife Dawn owns a pair and Gary jokes that he'll divorce her if she buys any more. And he can't be seen with her when she does wear them.

"All 230-odd cast and crew have been told to stick to trainers or heels when not on stage.

"The other lads find it hilarious and keep taking the mick, but Gary is adamant: dump the pump."

And he isn't the only member of Take That who likes things just so backstage.

The manband - currently in Cardiff on the Welsh leg of their sell-out tour - have a masseuse to ease any aches and pains, and soothing ice baths on tap. They also insist on herbal supplements and throat lozenges to keep their voices in fine tune.

Still, all the pampering is clearly working. Their critically-acclaimed £10million UK stadium dates have even put Britney's ongoing tour of the same name, to shame.

Fuente: Mirror