Pop star Robbie Williams becomes a father

LONDON - British pop star Robbie Williams has become father to a baby girl, named Theodora Rose Williams, he said on his blog. It is the first child for the former Take That singer, 38, and his wife, US actress Ayda Field. "Praise be, it's Theodora Rose Williams, affectionately known as Teddy," he wrote on the blog late Tuesday. "Born 3.33pm on 18.9.12, 7lbs 4OZ (3.3 kilograms)." He added: "Baby, Mummy and Daddy are all rockin.... Thank you for your best wishes XXXX." Congratulations have flooded in for Williams and Field, with Take That singer-songwriter Gary Barlow tweeting: "Massive congrats Rob and Ayda. So happy for you". Barlow's own fourth child Poppy was stillborn last month. Williams had recently announced that he had a private jet on standby to ensure he did not miss the baby's birth as he toured Britain. It was not clear whether he had to use the jet or not. He also said that he wanted the baby to grow up in Britain rather than in the United States, where he and his wife currently live, saying that children in Los Angeles have a "massive sense of entitlement". "I don't want to educate our baby in LA because I would much prefer her to have English sensibilities," he said. Williams rose to fame as the bad boy of 1990s band Take That, later becoming one of Britain's best-selling solo artists. After years of acrimony with Barlow, he re-joined the five-piece in November 2010 but quit a year later to resume his solo career. He and Field have been together for five years, marrying in 2010. -- AFP