Robbie's video nasty

This is how Robbie appeared on Top of the Pops

Robbie Williams' new video which features mock cannibalism was deemed too gory to be shown in full on Top of the Pops.

The video for Williams' new single Rock DJ sees him apparently tearing chunks of skin and muscle from his body and throwing them to female onlookers to eat.

The BBC decided to show the much tamer first half of the video on Friday's edition of TOTP which was screened at 1930 BST.

The full version was shown on the late edition of the programme at 0145 BST on Sunday morning.

Roller girls: Not impressed

In the video, which is available on the internet, Williams resorts to his gruesome, yet bizarrely compelling, strip show to attract the attention of beautiful women at a roller skating rink.

First he strips down to tiger motif underpants, then he tears away his skin, discards his organs and finally becomes a skeleton.

The women are then seen licking the lumps of flesh and eating them.

'Ironic'

The special effects team which created the make-up and prosthetics for the scenes said the imagery was supposed to be ironic.

Spokeswoman Sacha Carter from Carter White FX said: "Like Pandora's box we're all keen to see what lies beneath the skin while still venting disgust at the thought of it.

"Rock DJ is an unusual project that allowed us to push the boundaries of flesh and blood, how we see ourselves and the whole question of fame with everyone wanting a piece of the action."

'Laborious process'

The video took four days to shoot and the special effects muscle suit, which consisted of a 17-piece full body and head prosthetic, took four weeks to make.

Make-up artist Dave White said: "I haven't applied a prosthetic of this magnitude since working with Robert De Niro on Frankenstein."

Make-up application took six hours with a team of three gluing the prosthetic pieces to Williams's body.

"It's a laborious process but Robbie was brilliant, very patient," he added.