Simon Cowell axes Britain's Got Talent filming over Liam Payne's tragic death

Liam Payne has died at the age of 31 and now his death has prompted Simon Cowell to cancel filming for Britain's Got Talent as the show's judges pay tribute to the singer

Britain's Got Talent has halted filming in the wake of Liam Payne's tragic death at the age of 31.

The One Direction singer died at the age of 31 on Wednesday after falling from the third floor of a hotel in the Palermo neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Local police said the dad-of-one fell from the third floor into the courtyard of the Casa Sur Hotel before medics confirmed his death.

The ITV show's judges Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and special guest judge KSI gathered in Blackpool Winter Gardens last week to mark the new series getting underway ahead of airing next year. But the filming of the audition process has now been paused following the death of former X Factor star Liam.

"Simon Cowell has postponed today’s Britain’s Got Talent auditions in Blackpool following the death of Liam Payne. #BGT," a post shared on Twitter (X) read on this morning, just hours on from Liam's death in Argentina being announced. The Mirror has approached Britain's Got Talent for confirmation.

Music mogul Simon is yet to publicly pay tribute to Liam but had a close bond with the late singer. Simon first met the late singer when Liam was a young teenager dreaming of stardom. Liam was just 14-years-old when he auditioned for The X Factor in 2008, wowing judge Simon so much he was asked to return two years later. At 16, he initially auditioned as a solo act but was given a second chance to form what became one of the talent show’s biggest success stories – One Direction.

Despite winning over audiences around the world, One Direction came third in the competition behind Rebecca Ferguson and winner Matt Cardle. In footage of the moment the band was formed in 2010, judge Nicole Scherzinger pointed out that Liam "actually may be the leader" as he was paired with Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson.

The X Factor said Liam will "leave a lasting legacy on the music industry" in a tribute shared on social media this morning. "We are heartbroken by the sad passing of Liam Payne", the show’s official account on Twitter (X) wrote alongside a photo of the star. "He was immensely talented and, as part of One Direction, Liam will leave a lasting legacy on the music industry and fans around the world. Our thoughts are with his friends, family and all who loved him."

Dermot O’Leary, who hosted The X Factor, said Liam was "central" to One Direction on ITV’s This Morning, and "always had this unbelievable, soulful voice". He added that the X Factor-formed band had "unbelievable longevity" as they were "quite strong willed, and they were very kind of adamant as the kind of music they wanted to make".

"They became brothers very, very quickly," Dermot said live on the ITV programme. "These boys were kind of each other’s family, and they were so unbelievably tight." The broadcaster also shared that received messages during last night from fellow former X Factor staff, who felt they had "protectiveness" over the band’s members. He said: "In many ways, we sort of grew up with them, and (so we are) holding close to our people and saying all our love to friends and family."

One Direction released five studio albums and won seven Brit Awards, including for their 2012 debut hit What Makes You Beautiful, to the track History from their last album in 2015, released months after Zayn left the group. The band attempted to continue without Zayn after he announced he wanted "some private time out of the spotlight" in March 2015, but they went on an indefinite hiatus in 2016. Their last televised performance together was in December 2015, despite years of reunion rumours.

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