Robbie, the Artful Dodger and 'perfect' am dram star

Robbie Williams is a global icon who has topped the charts worldwide, sold 75 million records and is among the best selling music artists of all time - but life could have been very different if he had listened to family friend Brian Rawlins.

"The story I tell is that the day before he went for those [Take That] auditions, my wife and I met his mum and she told us she was taking him to Manchester," Mr Rawlins told the BBC.

"And I expressed horror that she was going to hand him over to god knows who, to do god knows what, and I said 'Oh I wouldn't go for that, don't take him'.

"Of course, what do I know."

Mr Rawlins had performed as Fagin to 14-year-old Williams' Artful Dodger in a sold-out North Staffs Operatic Society performance of Oliver! in 1988 - just two years before Take That was formed.

"He was just absolutely right for [the stage role]," Mr Rawlins said.

"He was a cheeky lad, had a lot to say for himself and was just a bright boy.

"And obviously loved doing it, he could sing, he could act, so he was absolutely perfect."

People in Stoke-on-Trent have been remembering the city's famous son as a four-part documentary about his career was released by Netflix.

Still very much connected to his roots, among his many tattoos are a Staffordshire knot and the crest of Burslem - where he grew up living in the Red Lion pub his parents Pete and Janet ran.

Enjoying six years of fame as member of the boyband, he shot to superstardom after going solo in 1996.

And on the street, residents said the city was immensely proud of its claim on the Angels singer.

"I think it is good for Stoke because it is nice to have quite a big celebrity linked to the area and it kind of brings people over here", said Sasha Jones, of Kidsgrove.

Everyone has their own story about him, she added.

"You ask anyone I'm sure they'll tell you that their mum dated him at some point, I think quite a few people have got a bit of a connection to him."

Superfans from across the country have travelled to the city to take part in a Robbie Williams trail, which takes in sites including the Red Lion, the schools he attended and Victoria Park Road, where a blue plaque was installed to commemorate his 40th birthday.

It also points tourists to High Lane Oatcakes, reportedly his favourite purveyor of the classic Stoke treat.

Assistant baker Andrew Kennedy said it was "quite a privilege really having somebody that's as famous as Robbie eating our oatcakes".

Streets in Middleport have even been named after some of his hits - such as Angels Way, Supreme Street and Candy Lane.

A supporter of Port Vale Football Club, last year around 20,000 fans watched him perform a homecoming gig at its ground Vale Park

Williams called it "an incredibly special night" and raised funds for charities including Unicef and the local Donna Louise Children's Hospice.

The club's chair Carol Shanahan OBE said: "We'd won promotion at Wembley the Saturday before so the whole club was still on the euphoria of that and Robbie being a Vale fan was very much part of that.

"I've seen his last tour and it was brilliant and it was so good but I said to him, even though it was good, I still preferred his one here because it was just about him, it was his homecoming."

The pair regularly exchange messages about the team and its progress.

She said: "The first time I met him I said 'look, I have no idea how to deal with a global superstar, can I just treat you as a person?' and he said 'Oh, thank goodness for that'.

"It is a local boy done good, but he is still the local boy...you can take the boy out of Stoke but you can't take Stoke-on-Trent out of the boy.

"He watches the Port Vale matches online wherever he is and I'll usually get a message from him, some I can't repeat.

"He is very, very human... and he is so good for Port Vale and I hope in some ways we're good for him too."