Take That fans have dreamed for years that the original five will get back together someday.
The Manchester boyband, made up of Robbie Williams, Mark Owen, Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Jason Orange, set the world on fire when they burst onto the scene in 1990.
They have gone on to have great success in a variety of different line-ups - first Robbie left, then went back, then Robbie and Jason both left.
To mark 30 years in the business, the recent documentary, Take That: We've Come a Long Way, followed the band's journey, with Robbie even turning up for the occasion.
But fans were devastated when Jason Orange, who left the group in 2014, was absent from the hour-long programme.
And today Howard, who appeared on ITV's Lorraine to promote the tour and his Channel 4 show Mission Ignition, put the nail in the coffin for any potential reunion of the original five.
When host Lorraine Kelly asked him if he thought Jason would return for their 40th anniversary, Howard said: “I don’t think so. I think he’s doing his own thing, he’s happy where he is.
“He’s the sort of person that at the moment he wants to keep a distance from it, so we don’t tend to bother him.
“The door’s open for him whenever.”
This revelation came hours after Howard put a halt to rumours that Robbie was to join them on their anniversary tour, which kicks off in April.
Speaking to Alex Jones and Matt Baker on the One Show on Thursday, he said: “It isn’t going to happen.
"He's got his thing. He's just done Vegas, which is amazing for him.
“Take that as a five, as a four, as a three - anyone who wants to come back can come back. We just don’t want to pester them.”
Lorraine airs weekdays from 8.30am on ITV.
