Howard Donald says his friend Jason Orange has "gone off the grid" since leaving Take That

Jason left Take That following the release of their 2010 LP 'Progress' and subsequent tour, which saw the band reunite as five piece - consisting of him, Howard, Gary Barlow, Mark Owen and the returning Robbie Williams for the first time since 1995.

Speaking about Jason's status on 'Loose Women', Howard said: "Jason's gone off the grid. He's not taking emails or phone calls or stuff like that. But that's good for him, that's where he wants to be.

"I think he wants to be a million miles away from this at the moment. Who knows in the near future he might decide to change his mind and if he does he's welcome back anytime."

Howard, 50, also spoke of the effect Jason's initial departure had on the 'Back For Good' hitmakers and confessed that although it was difficult to adapt at first, they've adjusted to life as a trio.

He said: "We went from a five to a four, back to a five, down to a three, and, like I said, us being a three now we're really comfortable

When Jason first left it was a difficult, we had to make that decision whether the three of us were going to carry on as a band and we thought, 'Yeah why not?'"

Howard, Gary and Mark reunited with Robbie on 'The X Factor final - on which the pop star is a judge - for a rendition of 'Everything Changes'.

Following the TV performance and the foursome singing at the gala night of 'The Band' musical in London's Theatre Royal Haymarket, the 'Angels' singer vowed to be part of Take That again in the future.

He said: "As long as we stay healthy, I'm sure there'll be another moment where we all get together. Maybe we can coax Jason back, who knows? We shall have to see. But definitely, definitely in the future.

"We will all ride again. Next year when the boys are on tour, I'm on tour too. If we're in the same place at the same time, there's an open mic at my gig. I'm sure there's an open mic at theirs too."