Gary Barlow shares never-before-seen pictures of him at 17st during bulimia battle

Warning: This article contains discussion of eating disorders which some readers may find distressing

Gary Barlow has shared previously unseen pictures of himself from a time when he weighed 17 stone and was in a battle with the eating disorder bulimia.

Netflix has a new documentary called Take That - you get no prizes for guessing which band it's about - which uses archive footage to return to the story of the boy band and go over the story people remember.

Running from when the band first formed through to when the cracks started showing and into the drama of them breaking up, Take That looks at the rising solo star of Robbie Williams and the unsuccessful attempts of his bandmates, including Barlow, to go it alone for which he was subjected to much mockery.

Take That formed in 1990 and quickly became one of the most recognised boy bands in the world (Tim Roney/Getty Images)

Barlow said he 'saw it all, and watched it all', and Take That delves into a 13 month period where he didn't leave the house and started eating as he developed bulimia.

In the documentary, Barlow said he couldn't walk down a street 'without someone shouting something about Robbie to me', and described it as 'excruciating'.

"It was just so excruciating," he added. "You just wanted to crawl into a hole."

The singer and songwriter said he started eating and the more weight he gained the less he was recognised so he 'killed the pop star'.

He said: "There was a period of about 13 months when I didn’t leave the house once.

The new Take That documentary covers Gary Barlow developing an eating disorder (Netflix)

"And I also started to put weight on. And the more weight I put on the less people would recognise me.

"I thought ‘this is good, this is what I’ve been waiting for, living a normal life’. So I went on a mission.

"If the food passed me, I’d just eat it… and I killed the pop star."

Barlow admitted he would feel awful about eating so much that he would 'go off to a dark corner of the house and just throw up' and found that he kept doing it.

In 2003, his weight reached 17 stone and he decided he needed to change his ways, but said it took him 'years to get back to who I wanted to be'.

Barlow said he 'killed the pop star' but in 2003, decided enough was enough and it wasn't who he wanted to be (Netflix)

In the past, Barlow has spoken about his thoughts on changing things up, saying he resolved to turn things around.

"2003 - it was the day when I just went, 'No, I'm not having this anymore, I'm going to change. I want to change and I'm determined that this is not who I've become'."

Of course, since then Take That reformed, enjoyed a renewed period of success, and even briefly teamed up with Robbie Williams again.

And perhaps most importantly, they have cemented their position as one of the most popular and recognisable boy bands of all time.

**If you've been affected by any of the issues in this article and would like to speak with someone in confidence, call the BEAT Eating Disorders helpline on 0808 801 0677. Helplines are open 3pm-8pm Monday to Friday. Alternatively, you can try the one-to-one **webchat.