LONDON: A lifelong Take That fan has a set of wedding photos to treasure after Gary Barlow turned up to serenade the newlyweds.

Bride Katie Hardy had no idea the Back For Good singer was about to walk in on her big day after friends kept the secret for eight long months.

Even groom Stephen Hardy was kept in the dark, having booked a local Robbie Williams tribute act to fill in at the reception on August 29. But when

the tribute singer finished his last number, Barlow walked on to the dance floor, belting out Take That’s hit number Rule The World. Katie said, “The real Gary Barlow walked in, and I just couldn’t believe it.”

The 33-year-old has been a Take That fan since she was eight. She even has the names of the original band members tattooed on her arm.

But unknown to her, friends and other die-hard fans put the couple’s names forward after Barlow launched a Twitter competition in January, vowing to sing at his most dedicated followers’ wedding.

The group got more than nine million tweets to the star, and Barlow’s management got in touch with them just days later.