Gary Barlow strips off for cheeky bath scene with pal minutes into brand new ITV show

ITV audiences were in for a cheeky surprise as Gary Barlow appeared almost in the buff shortly after his new series, Gary Barlow's Wine Tour: South Africa, premiered.

Launching on Monday at 2pm (November 11), the show follows the 53-year-old Take That star as he delves into his love for fine wines and exquisite foods across the Western Cape of South Africa. However, viewers barely had time to settle in before Gary was seen disrobing for a sumptuous wine bath.

Joining him in the soak was his mate Eliot Kennedy, with both men enjoying the warm embrace of the water. A relaxed Gary exclaimed, "This is bliss!" and further commented, "It's quite nice though in here I must say."

The unexpected scenes prompted fans to take to social media platform X to express their amusement. One fan humorously posted: "I'm Going to have to explain to the kids why I'm late on the school run. Sorry, @GaryBarlow. I have to drop you in it as I'm engrossed watching your Wine Tour."

Another chimed in with praise: "Fabulous little Monday afternoon pickup on @ITV with @GaryBarlow and Eliot Kennedy," reports .

Meanwhile, a third fan gushed: "My two main loves of my life @GaryBarlow and wine (laughing emoji)."

And a fourth admirer shared: "@GaryBarlow is literally showing me my perfect tour!! Great wines, great food, great locations."

Gary, the singer who once graced the judge's panel on ITV's The X Factor, expressed his excitement about returning to television with his own show. He explained that since he was already globetrotting, it seemed logical to film the programme.

He revealed: "It's a pleasure to be back! I've not really done anything like this on TV before, so in terms of where the idea came from, I wanted it to be something new. I was fortunately already travelling around the world a bit for my own wine business and getting to see these amazing estates, and just having these brand new experiences I felt people should know about all this and the process too!

"So I had a call with ITV and suggested this very simple idea of me travelling with friends, wine, food, and having good times and they were like, 'We love it!' and before I knew it we got together with the production company and came up with the ideas about what the series could be."

Gary Barlow's Wine Tour: South Africa airs Monday 11th - Friday 15th November at 2pm on ITV.