Gary Barlow says his continued grief over stillborn daughter Poppy helps him to feel closer to her

Speaking on BBC Radio 4's 'Desert Island Discs', Gary shared: "For anyone who has been through anything like this I think it’s something you accept you’re going to be dealing with the rest of your life. In a strange way you don’t want it to end because it’s one of the few things you have to remind you of the person that’s not there. In some ways the pain and the grief brings you closer to them."

Gary - who has Daniel, 18, Emily, 16, and Daisy, nine, with Dawn - also revealed he and Dawn had many discussions about whether he should open up about Poppy in his autobiography 'A Better Me'.

He explained: "It felt important to me as a 47-year-old man to talk about something bad that’s happened and how it made me feel. You can pick up several magazines and know how women deal with things and learn how other people have experienced them and for some reason men don’t talk about those things."

Gary previously revealed that he hopes talking about his own heartbreak will encourage other people to follow suit.

The Take That star explained: "After Poppy died, people wrote to me about suffering the same awful experience. Many had kept so much of it locked away in secret.

"I've wondered about the value and purpose in sharing something so private, but I'd have been denying Poppy her legacy not to. Maybe sharing our story will help others talk about theirs."