Take That star Mark Owen has checked into rehab, the singer's spokesperson has confirmed.

The move comes after the 38-year-old admitted to having ten affairs behind his wife's back and also to having an alcohol problem.

A simple statement from his spokesperson today reads: "I can confirm Mark checked into a private clinic on Friday."

Speaking to The Sun on Thursday, Owen said: "I have had issues for a long time. I've drunk for the last 10 years and it got to a bad point.”

Owen denied that his drink issues had triggered his affairs, which lasted up until a month before the couple's marriage to Emma Ferguson last October.

"I want to make it absolutely clear I am not using the drink as an excuse,” he said.

“I've been living with the guilt. Maybe the drink was my way of dealing with the guilt."

(by Scott Colothan)