Mystery Lump on Robbies Mic: Liz Jones Reacts

He was on the world stage in front of a global audience. He was the last Englishman standing at the World Cup, given we had lost to Argentina a few days before. And what did , the former Britpop bad boy, manage to do? Almost become a national embarrassment.

No, I’m not talking about his performance of a song called Desire, the official Fifa anthem which no one knew the words to, alongside Laura Pausini (me neither) and .

I’m referring instead to the now-viral moment, during a live interview, when a speck of something white and granular appeared to drop out of Robbie’s nostril or perhaps his mouth, and – plop! – land on the head of his microphone. Barely missing a beat, the former Take That singer swiftly used his fingers to pick the ‘object’ up, before rubbing his face, meaning the white speck ended up on his forehead.

Was the reformed addict – it was none other than who forced him in to rehab more than 25 years ago – back on the marching powder again? Had he let the side down?

The morning after the faux pas seen by millions, Robbie posted a short video on Instagram where he appeared to be ashamed, humble – and, did I detect, perhaps a little worn out?

‘Just like to apologise for the object that fell on to the microphone yesterday. It was deeply unprofessional and people worried about me. But it is OK because I had several more.’

He then opens his mouth to reveal two mints on his tongue, before giving his trademark cheeky-chappy grin. Was he being honest or merely... TicTactical?

We all love Robbie, of course: he’s the flawed, chaotic, talented rogue who has bravely admitted struggling with rampant addiction to heroin, cocaine and alcohol in his twenties, leading to near-fatal overdoses.

‘I was ingesting everything I could get my hands on – ecstasy, cocaine, drinking,’ he said last year. ‘I’m literally drinking like a bottle of vodka a night before going in to rehearsals, so that’s happening every night.’

Robbie has said he has now been sober for a quarter of a century but his long-suffering wife, American actress Ayda Field, has spoken about the impact his addiction has had on family life. Having enjoyed a renaissance with a recent Netflix hagiography that earned him a few new fans in the US, if Robbie was ever shown to have tragically relapsed, the fall from grace in the country he still wants to conquer could be career-ending.

The best way to disarm any brewing scandal is to be self-deprecating. Humour is the most effective weapon to take the wind out of any squalls on social media, and I can only imagine the frantic phone calls from his handlers, PR managers and record company executives after Robbie’s white-blob video went round the world.

His minty-fresh video did just the job.