Britain's Got Talent auditions cancelled following death of One Direction star Liam Payne
17 October 2024, 10:31 | Updated: 17 October 2024, 22:10
Britain's Got Talent auditions have been cancelled following the death of One Direction star Liam Payne.
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The 31-year-old died on Wednesday after falling from the third floor of a hotel in Argentina.
Alberto Crescenti, a senior local medical official, said that Payne fell from around 13 or 14 metres and that he suffered "very serious injuries incompatible with life".
It comes as auditions kicked off in Blackpool this week for the next series of Britain's Got Talent.
But following Payne's death, auditions due to take place on Thursday were cancelled.
A call will also be made by the end of the day about whether the rest of this week's auditions will be cancelled too, a source close to the show told LBC.
Applause Store, which organises tickets for the shows, said in a tweet: "Due to the tragic passing of Liam Payne, BGT has decided to postpone today's auditions in Blackpool.
"We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause."
Read more: Revealed: 911 call made by hotel manager before Liam Payne was found dead
A Fremantle UK spokesperson said: "Due to the tragic passing of Liam Payne, we have decided to postpone the Britain’s Got Talent auditions.
"Our thoughts are with Liam’s friends, family and all who loved him."
Payne rose to fame as a member of One Direction, alongside Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson.
The group was formed on The X Factor in 2010, which was Payne's second time trying out for the show.
Both The X Factor and Britain's Got Talent were created by Simon Cowell.
Tributes have flooded in for the singer following news of his death, with TV presenter Dermot O'Leary recalling him auditioning for The X Factor as a 14-year-old boy.
O'Leary, who hosted the talent show during both of Payne's appearances, shared a photograph of the pair on stage, captioning the Instagram post: "The worst news".
"I remember him as a 14-year-old turning up to audition on The X Factor, and blowing us away singing Sinatra. He just loved to sing," he wrote.
"He was always a joy, had time for everyone, polite, grateful, and was always humble."
Singer Olly Murs, who starred on the show a year before One Direction, said that he was "lost for words", describing Payne's death as "devastating".
"We always had a good laugh when we saw each other, sometimes the catch ups were only short and sweet but when we did it was mostly about how annoyingly good his hair always looked, or our love for Becks, the old XF (X Factor) days and the tour we shared together," Murs wrote beside a picture of the pair.
"Liam shared the same passions as me, the same dreams so to see his life now end so young hits hard, I'm truly gutted and devastated for his family and of course his son Bear losing a dad."
Payne and Girls Aloud singer Cheryl had a son Bear, in 2017, having been in a high-profile relationship between 2016 and 2018.
