A technical problem with a giant robot left Take That struggling to continue with their concert at the City of Manchester Stadium at the weekend.

Singers Mark Owen and Howard Donald were due to be lowered onto the stage by the giant hands of a robot known as OM, however a mechanical problem led to this being unable to happen.

But being the true professionals they are the group carried on with the show with Mark and Howard resigned to singing Love Love while being suspended 10 metres above the rest of the band who were all safely stood on stage.

Mark Owen was aided down from the robot using ladders and leaving Howard Donald to take on the task of lead vocals for a rendition of the Take That hit Never Forget.

In a statement the band said of the incident: “The mechanical man did stop in motion at the end of Love Love but the matter resolved and by the end of the show he was standing tall again.

“There is no guarantee that with a mechanical structure the size of Om, there will be no recurrence at some point but all seems fine now.”

Almost two million people across Europe this summer will be able to watch to see if Om will be up to his old tricks again as the band go on their biggest tour ever and the first for all five of the members as a band since 1995.

The production of the Progress Live tour has cost around €15 million and includes the 30 metre high robot.