How Gary Barlow became accidental king of memes

The singer is currently enjoying a load of nice days out’ on his new travel show. It’s the latest step in his reinvention as an inadvertent icon of hun culture’, says Katie Rosseinsky

- Katie Rosseinsky

Gary Barlow has just arrived in South Africa, ready to fulfil his celebrity national service by embarking on his very own TV travelogue. But first, before he can truly set out on “what promises to be one of [his] greatest tours ever”, the singer must shimmy out of his trainers and into some more comfortable footwear. “I can’t do anything until I’ve got my flip-flops on,” he admits cheerily to the camera, his accent still undiluted North West after three decades in showbiz. “The flip-flop has landed!” he then exclaims in a stage whisper, holding his hands up to the heavens.

This early scene from Gary Barlow’s Wine Tour: South Africa, the new ITV daytime show from the Take That star turned royalapproved songwriter turned sometime organic winemaker, feels a bit like watching someone’s affable dad in a family holiday video, albeit one with very high production values. And just like so much of Barlow’s recent output, it also feels destined to become a meme, shared out of context on social media ad infinitum. The same goes for a clip where he pours a cup of tea into a plant pot so that he can swap said beverage for a glass of white wine. Or a moment when he proclaims that he is “having the time” – pause – “and the wine” – second pause, so the rhyme can sink in – “of [his] life”.