Copyright walesonline
Westlife have insisted that Mark Feehily is "very much a part of the band" amid his absence from their current tour. The Irish pop group - comprised of stars Nicky Byrne, Shane Filan, Kian Egan and Mark Feehily - are celebrating their 25th anniversary and are hitting the road for a string of concerts to mark the milestone. However, last year their bandmate Mark stepped back from touring amid "health challenges". He developed sepsis in 2020 after surgery, before being diagnosed with pneumonia a year later. Earlier this year it was confirmed that he would be absent from the anniversary world tour. However, Nicky, Shane and Kian, who kicked off their 25th celebrations this week with a show at the Royal Albert Hall in London, have made it clear that Mark is still part of Westlife and that they "can't wait to have him back". Addressing his absence on The One Show on Wednesday (October 29), Shane said: "Oh, he's very much a part of the band. "Unfortunately, he's unable to join us for the tour, but, you know, he's... look, we love Mark to bits." "We can't wait to have him back," he went on. "It's going to be, obviously, this tour is going to be the three of us, but we're very much looking forward to it." "And he's on the new music as well," Kian chimed in. Last year Mark posted a lengthy statement on Instagram updating fans on his health. He shared that after a surgery he developed sepsis and ended up spending months in hospital. In 2021 he developed pneumonia, then the following year he had to have further surgery and that after that the "physical demands of the concerts and extensive travel were proving too much" for him. He said that, with "regret", he would have to “temporarily stand down from all Westlife touring” as he had to “make the right decision for my health and wellbeing, for my family, and for myself as a person”. The One Show airs at 7pm on BBC One on weekdays.
