Pop group Take That have been forced to cancel a show for the first time in their lengthy career after Robbie Williams suffered a bout of food poisoning.

The singer became violently ill on Friday night and was unable to recover in time to perform at Saturday night's gig in Copenhagen, Denmark, according to the reformed group.

A statement released by the group said it was "truly devastated" that the show did not go ahead.

"This is the first show that we have ever had to cancel in our career as a band," it said. "It was a horrible decision to make and one we agonised over.

"On Friday night, Rob suffered serious food poisoning from something he had eaten after the show. He was violently ill all night and well into the morning."

The band said the singer's dressing room was relocated to the stadium on Saturday morning in the hope that he could recover and prepare for the show. But despite taking prescribed medication, Williams was still vomiting at 4pm and doctors insisted he was not fit to perform.

The statement said that the band made a "group decision" to cancel the show as they felt it was "fairer" to the fans as the tour was about celebrating their reunion.

It added: "We cannot believe what has happened. Rob is still very unwell, and we are all just focusing on getting him better so we can put on our show in Amsterdam this coming Monday."

They added that they were "truly sorry from the bottom of our hearts" to those that had purchased tickets.

Take That's latest reunion show begins with a medley of songs performed by Jason Orange, Mark Owen, Gary Barlow and Howard Donald - who reformed without Williams in 2006. Williams, who returned to the original line-up last year, then sings a list of his own solo hits before the band reel off past and present songs as a five-piece.