The group - Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Mark Owen and Jason Orange - have dismissed claims they deliberately snubbed Robbie by failing to mention him when collecting their British Single BRIT award.

They insist they have been in constant contact with the "Angels" singer since he checked into a US rehab centre but don't want to publicize their support.

Gary said: "We got picked up a lot for not mentioning Robbie when we collected the award and for us it seemed like everyone was just jumping on the bandwagon."

"But we have all sent texts and emails to him. We just want to deal with it privately."

Robbie checked into Arizona's Meadows centre on February 13 the day before the BRITs.

He is being treated for an addiction to the anti-depressants Seroxat and Xanax, and the painkiller Vicodin.