Xtra Factor star says 'it's so tough' as she pays tribute to Liam Payne

BBC Breakfast host Konnie Huq admitted that being on a huge platform had been "a lot of pressure" on "young people" as she opened up on the life of former band member Liam Payne

News broke last night (Wednesday, October 17) that former One Direction star Liam Payne had tragically died at the age of 31 after falling from his hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The police have yet to release further details.

Konnie Huq, who knew Liam when he was just embarking on his music career in 2010, paid tribute to him on BBC Breakfast and shared her memories of their time together on the Xtra Factor.

BBC Breakfast host Naga Munchetty initiated the conversation, saying: "Konnie good morning, you know obviously fans are waking up to this news, we heard around 10:30pm yesterday evening and there's a lot to digest. I know you would have been in contact with him when he was on the X Factor?"

She reminisced about a memorable moment on the show, later characterising Liam as one of the "mature" members of the band after he'd appeared on the programme alongside Justin Bieber, both sporting similar hairstyles at the time.

Konnie, who hosted the X Factor spin-off show, was certain that the group - which included Liam, Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson - were destined for stardom, even after they finished third on Simon Cowell's talent show, reports the Express.

She acknowledged to the BBC presenters that being in the spotlight was "a lot of pressure" on "young people". She reflected on his experiences, noting: "If you think that he started his journey when he was 14 and he was only 31 and really the majority of his life had been through this lens, it's a lot of pressure."

The ITV celebrity then remarked to hosts Ben Thompson and Naga about the amplified stress, saying: "Especially with social media and modern living it sort of heightens that pressure."

Ben interjected with a question regarding the music industry's responsibilities: "And Konnie obviously there will be questions raised about the duty of care in the music industry when it takes young people, as you said just 14, they have that meteoric rise to fame.

"We were hearing earlier how he wasn't allowed to leave his hotel room because of fans outside, trying to get a look or a touch even of these people that they were huge fans of. It's really difficult isn't it and I wonder if the music industry will look this morning at how it looks after its young stars?"

Konnie didn't offer much insight into how the music industry might respond to Liam's death but did suggest that "modern living" exacerbates the challenges of fame in today's world, pointing out that once you're caught up in it, there's no easy escape.

She expressed her concerns, saying: "It's so tough because no matter what you do at that level you really cannot opt out at all, there's no resemblance of living a relatively normal lifestyle and the only way to do that is kind of to opt out.

"But this global world that we live in now, it's tougher and tougher. Young famous stars having this rock n roll lifestyle and dying young, goes back to, I don't know, maybe even James Dean but like I say with things like social media and the prevalence of the fast consumer culture that we live in, I think the problem only exacerbates."

BBC Breakfast airs on BBC One, everyday, from 6am.