Robbie Williams is receiving secret darts lessons from Phil Taylor to help him beat his Take That bandmates.

The British band are planning to host a huge tournament when they take to the road for their 'Progress Live' European tour in May and Robbie has enlisted the help of the 15-time World Champion in order to crush his rivals.

Phil said: 'We've had several sessions over the past few months. Anyone who knows Rob will tell you he's very competitive and he wants to show the others he's the best player.

'He's a smashing boy and he's not looking a bad player at all.'

Robbie doesn't need to worry about losing his touch when he takes to the road with bandmates Mark Owen, Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Jason Orange this summer as Phil ' who is nicknamed 'The Power' ' has promised to join him on tour to polish up his skills.

He told the Daily Mirror newspaper: ''ll go and see Robbie at some stage on the tour to check on his progress. If I think he's losing bits of his game, I'll get him back on track. '

Robbie is not the only musician Phil has taken under his wing.

Justin Hawkins' relationship with his The Darkness bandmates became strained after he began getting private lessons from Phil and admitted darts had become more important to him than music.

He said: "I've been to two tournaments now supporting Phil. Darts has now become my life. It's probably as important if not more important than the music."