DERMOT O’Leary shared his heartbreak as he recalls last moment he shared with Liam Payne before the star’s death.
The singer, 31, was in Buenos Aires, Argentina, for pal Niall Horan’s tour when he fell from his third floor hotel room on Wednesday afternoon.
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Fans around the world are mourning his loss, including former X Factor presenter Dermot O’Leary, who first met Liam when he auditioned for the ITV show in 2010.
Dermot joined Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley on This Morning on Thursday to speak about the fond memories he shared with Liam.
The emotional TV presenter stated: “No parents should have to bury their child.”
During the chat, Dermot opened up on the last time they saw each other was Soccer Aid in 2022, when Liam captained the English side at the London Stadium in West Ham.
Paying tribute to the former One Direction star, the daytime show opened with Liam’s first X Factor audition – 14 years ago.
Cat said: “We’re starting the show with the very sad news that Liam Payne, the star of One Direction has died at the age of 31.”
Appearing via video link, a clearly heartbroken Dermot said: “Obviously very sad and your heart goes out to his family.
“When you do X Factor you get to know the families so well, in such a short period of time.
“And his mum and dad were just adorable, they were never pushy, this was very much his dream.
“He just loved to sing, he was rough around the edges but for a 14-year-old turning up doing Sinatra, no 14-year-olds turn up doing Sinatra.
Liam Payne dead: One Direction star dies aged 31 after ‘falling from 3rd floor balcony’ of Buenos Aires hotel
“At the time Simon quite rightly made the decision that he wasn’t ready and he came back two years later.
“Simon and Nicole put together One Direction and that’s when he flew really.”
Dermot recalled: “I hadn’t seen him for a while, the last time I saw him was Soccer Aid a couple of years ago and he was brilliant.
“But he was always wise and a young soul at exactly the same time.
“He had this sort of old bones about him like his musical taste but he was also beautifully wide-eyed about the world and his place in it and fame.
Dermot also admitted that the level of fame he experienced over the last decade can he difficult for anyone.
He went on: “It’s such a huge amount of pressure to be put on young shoulders.”
“I just thought he’s none been famous, he’s had worldwide fame for half his life which is an incredible amount of time for that level of pressure.”
The TV presenter admitted his thoughts are with his loved ones at this devastating time.
Dermot continued: “I thought of his family, and his son and his parents, no parents should have to bury their son or their daughter.
“Obviously our thoughts and our prayers go out to them, that goes without saying.”
Dermot, who presented X Factor from 2007 until 2018, said One Direction were the “least manufactured, manufactured boy band” after putting in the hard work to achieve “evolve”.
“Liam was central to that, he always had this unbelievable soulful voice,” he shared.
Liam had arrived in Argentina on September 30 with his most recent girlfriend Kate Cassidy.
He was seen at Niall’s show dancing and meeting fans on October 2.
A source later confirmed to The Sun that Liam had died.
Liam was staying at Hotel CasaSur in the neighbourhood of Palermo, local media report.
Liam’s final post on social media was put up on his Snapchat only minutes before his death and showed him and Kate.
He had posted earlier in the day talking about riding horses, playing polo and looking forward to returning home to see his dog.
“It’s a lovely day here in Argentina.”
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