I thinks he's just grown into himself. When Take that were around the first time, people would take the mickey out of him - he wasn't the pretty one, or a great dancer, but he was the song writer and he just kept plodding.
Take That broke up, and Gary kept plodding away, writing songs for himself and others. Didn't show himself up by getting caught up with Robbie slagging off Take That, and Gary in particular.
When Take That came back they'd all grown up - things have evened up a lot and the emphasis seems to have been much more on Gary this time around. Rightly or wrongly I think he's seen as the brains of the outfit. Robbie was great for a while then fell dramatically out of fashion. Gary's got better looking with age, he's fitter and he can move better (probably helps he married a dancer), the others have lost their "prettiness." And they came back with some fantastic songs, by Gary, whose songwriting has matured and moved with the times.
Out of all of them, he was probably the most 'business like' and his talent is the one that has the longevity.
I don't think he's more 'saintly' than he ever was...just seems to have more attention focused on him. And he seems to have a sensible head on his shoulders