This Morning has honoured One Direction’s Liam Payne with a heartfelt tribute after his unexpected death at the age of 31.
The beloved pop star tragically died following a fall from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires’ Palermo district, Argentina. Local officials have announced plans for an autopsy and are looking into how the incident occurred.
Presenters Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley introduced the show by revisiting Liam’s initial X Factor audition when he was 14 years old, before addressing his devastating death.
Throughout the programme, stars such as Dermot O’Leary, Busted, and McFly paid their respects to Liam, and a poignant video montage was shown as the episode concluded, deeply moving the audience.
On X, previously known as Twitter, fans expressed their sorrow, with one writing: “#ThisMorning Paying tribute to @LiamPayne. I am in tears.”, reports the Mirror. Another shared: “My God, the montage has broke me #ThisMorning.” A third commented: “That was sad #thismorning.”
Dermot O’Leary, visibly moved, reflected on the loss, saying: “I just thought of his family, I thought of his son and then I thought of his parents. I mean no parent should have to bury their son or their daughter.”
“Obviously our thoughts and our prayers, our candles are half-lit for his family. That goes without saying.” Liam first stepped onto the X Factor stage at 14, but judges felt he needed more time, prompting him to return two years later.
At the tender age of 16, he was grouped into One Direction, a boy band that finished third in the 2010 competition. Despite this, the group skyrocketed to global fame, churning out hit after hit worldwide.
Reflecting on his X-Factor experience, Dermot shared: “You get to know the families so well in such a short period of time. His mum and dad were just adorable. They were never pushy, this was very much his dream. He loved, he just loved to sing.”
Dermot revealed that the last time he saw Liam was at Soccer Aid a few years back, but he had nothing but praise for the late star. He added: “He was both wise and sort of a young soul at the exactly same time. He had this old bones about him, like his musical taste.”
“Yet, he was always quite beautifully wide-eyed about the world and his place in it. It’s such a huge amount of pressure to be put on young shoulders.”
This Morning airs weekdays on ITV at 10am