Former Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant has insisted he remains good friends with guitarist Jimmy Page despite his refusal to tour again with the band.

"I still see Jimmy quite a lot and he's very complimentary and supportive of what I'm doing,” Plant told BBC Radio Wales.

"But we are in different places now and you have to go on to do different things."

As previously reported, Plant ruled himself out of any further performances with the group earlier in the autumn.

He said he found the constant speculation around the band's future “frustrating and ridiculous”.

But bassist John Paul Jones, Page and drummer Jason Bonham still intend to tour minus their frontman.

In what was a wide ranging interview with Radio Wales, when asked about his future with the band, Plant joked he had only just managed to climb onto the stage.

"Do you know how long it took me to climb up onto the stage here - and it's only four steps," he said.

(by Jason Gregory)