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Westlife have confirmed that Mark Feehily is still "very much part of the band" despite dropping out of their 25th anniversary tour. The band confirmed earlier this month that Mark would be missing upcoming performances at the Royal Albert Hall to mark their milestone anniversary. Shane Filan, Nicky Byrne and Kian Egan will be the only ones performing at the gigs and their new world tour following Mark's health setbacks over the last few years. The 45-year-old developed sepsis in 2020 before being diagnosed with pneumonia a year later. Appearing on The One Show, the trio teased Westlife's upcoming gigs. However, host JB Gill brought up the topic of bandmate Mark pulling out of the tour. "Mark's not here today and he's not going to be on the tour either. Is he still very much a part of the band?" he asked. Shane replied: "He's very much part of the band. Unfortunately he's unable to join us for the tour but we love Mark to bits. "We can't wait to have him back. This tour is going to be the three of us but we're very much looking forward to it. Kian added: "He's on the new music as well. There's some songs on there and the vocals are incredible so we're really excited for everyone to hear that as well." Earlier this month, Westlife announced that Mark would not be joining them on stage for the anniversary gigs. "Sadly, Mark will be unable to join the celebrations. We hope he can join us back on stage when he is ready and able. He sends his love and positivity to you all as always," they said in a statement. "The four of us can't quite believe its been 25 years. We could only have dreamt of the continued love and loyalty you have consistently shown us around the world. We are so lucky to have all of you with us and we can't wait to celebrate together! Happy 25th To Us All! Love, Kian, Mark, Nicky & Shane x." Last year, Mark addressed his health problems when announcing a temporary departure from the band before their first-ever tour of America. He said on Instagram at the time: "Hello and much love to you all! It's Mark here.. "Most of you are aware that I have had some health challenges over the past while. "It actually all started 3.5 years ago in August 2020 when I had surgery. Within a few days of this surgery I was in severe pain and was rushed into A&E. "I eventually ended that awful day in ICU (Intensive Care Unit) where I was informed that due to a complication with the surgery, I had developed severe 'Sepsis', a life-threatening infection that would require immediate emergency surgery to rectify the problem and basically save my life." He added that he was diagnosed with pneumonia a year later and later developed an incisional hernia that required more surgery. * This is a breaking showbiz news story. Join The Mirror’s WhatsApp Community or follow us on Google News , Flipboard , Apple News, TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads - or visit The Mirror homepage.
