Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly looked dejected as they departed their hotel in Lancashire on Thursday, after BGT announced they postponed auditions in wake of Liam Payne’s shock death.
Britain’s Got Talent cancelled all auditions until further notice due after the One Direction singer fell from the third-floor balcony of a hotel in Argentina on Wednesday.
Local police said the 31-year-old fell into the courtyard of the Casa Sur Hotel in the Palermo neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, before medics confirmed his death.
Ant and Dec appeared overcome with emotion as they left The Grand Hotel in Lytham Saint Annes.
A spokesman for the programme’s producer, Freemantle UK, 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.’
Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, both 48, looked dejected as they departed their hotel in Lancashire on Thursday, after BGT announced they postponed auditions in wake of Liam Payne’s shock death
Britain’s Got Talent cancelled all auditions until further notice due after the One Direction singer fell from the third-floor balcony of a hotel in Argentina aged 31 on Wednesday
Simon Cowell – who famously formed Liam’s band One Direction – decided last minute to call off the auditions in Blackpool as he discovered the shocking news.
Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon, Simon and KSI were due to continue filming for BGT after auditions kicked off on Tuesday at the winter Gardens in Blackpool.
It comes as:
- Heartbroken fans descended on the hotel to lay candles and flowers for Payne;
- Celebrity tributes poured in from the likes of Dermot O’Leary and Paris Hilton;
- Payne shared a photo with his girlfriend on Snapchat minutes before his death;
- Fans looked back at Payne’s ‘extraordinary’ X Factor audition in 2008 aged 14;
- Pictures revealed rooms inside the hotel where Payne plunged to his death; and
- Harry Styles’s mother Anne Twist shared her grief with a tribute on Instagram.
The family of singer Liam said today that they were ‘heartbroken’ by his death, adding that the former One Direction star will ‘forever live in our hearts’.
Liam’s relatives said in an emotional statement: ‘We are heartbroken. Liam will forever live in our hearts and we’ll remember him for his kind, funny and brave soul.
‘We are supporting each other the best we can as a family and ask for privacy and space at this awful time.’
Liam’s uncle Roger Harris also told MailOnline: ‘We are all just deeply saddened and trying to come to terms with it. I just hope everybody gives them some privacy really and allows them to come to terms with it. That’s all I can say.’
In addition, another relative speaking at Payne’s family home in Wolverhampton told MailOnline: ‘We are utterly devastated by the news.’
Tributes have been paid to the singer, with pictures showing shocked fans gathering outside the hotel after police cordoned off the area, with forensic investigators in white protective suits and blue gloves seen entering and leaving.
Ant and Dec appeared overcome with emotion as they left The Grand Hotel in Lytham Saint Annes
A spokesman for the programme’s producer, Freemantle UK, 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’
Local police said Liam fell into the courtyard of the Casa Sur Hotel in the Palermo neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, before medics confirmed his death
Amanda Holden , Alesha Dixon , Simon and KSI were due to continue filming for BGT after auditions kicked off on Tuesday at the winter Gardens in Blackpool (judges pictured at Wednesday’s audition)
The family of singer Liam said today that they were ‘heartbroken’ by his death, adding that the former One Direction star will ‘forever live in our hearts’ (Liam, his father Geoff and mother Karen pictured in 2010)
As well as father Geoff and mother Karen, Payne had two sisters, Nicola (left) and Ruth (right)
Fans were photographed lighting candles and leaving flowers at the side of the road in an impromptu vigil as they paid tribute to the music star.
Liam formed boy band One Direction in 2010, alongside Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Harry Styles, after they individually auditioned for The X Factor.
After becoming one of the biggest pop groups in the world, with five albums and four world tours, they went on indefinite hiatus in 2016.
Liam died instantly from multiple injuries after plunging to his death from a third-floor hotel balcony in Argentina.
The star fractured his skull, with emergency services unable to save him at the scene.
Payne’s identity was confirmed by emergency services by checking his passport, but police do not yet have conclusive evidence regarding the circumstances of his fall.
Buenos Aires emergency services chief Alberto Crescenti told The Sun: ‘Our role was to head there quickly, give medical attention, and try to resuscitate him, but his injuries were incompatible with life.
‘Based on what the team saw, there was apparently a cranial fracture and extremely serious injuries that led to his immediate death.’
Simon – who famously formed Liam’s band One Direction – decided last minute to call off the auditions in Blackpool as he discovered the shocking news (the band pictured in 2013)
Liam died instantly from multiple injuries after plunging to his death from a third-floor hotel balcony in Argentina
Liam had arrived in Argentina earlier this month for his ex-bandmate Niall Horan’s concert with his girlfriend Kate Cassidy. She left two days ago, but he stayed on
Liam had arrived in Argentina earlier this month for his ex-bandmate Niall Horan’s concert with his girlfriend Kate Cassidy. She left two days ago, but he stayed on.
Around the same time, his ex-fiancée Maya Henry instructed lawyers to issue Payne with a cease and desist letter after accusing him of repeatedly contacting her.
City ambulance service provider spokesman Alberto Crescenti said he had fallen around 40 metres and suffered ‘severe injuries which were incompatible with life.’
He said: ‘The alarm was raised at 5.04pm local time saying a person was lying in an internal patio at Casa Sur.
‘At 5.11pm an ambulance arrived and the man was certified dead.
‘Afterwards we found out he had been a famous singer. Unfortunately the injuries he had suffered as a result of the fall proved to be fatal. There was no possibility of resuscitating him.’
A statement from local police said they arrived to the hotel after they were ‘informed of an aggressive man who may have been under the effects of drugs and alcohol’.
Officials heard a loud sound in the courtyard before discovering his body just after 5pm, reported the BBC.
According to TMZ, Liam ‘had been acting erratic in the hotel lobby and smashed his laptop’ before he ‘had to be carried back to his room’.
Police had received a call from a worker at the hotel requesting urgent help with an intoxicated guest, according to audio related to the case obtained from the Buenos Aires security ministry.
‘When he is conscious he is destroying the entire room and we need you to send someone,’ the worker said.
Simon, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and KSI were due to continue filming with Ant and Dec for BGT after auditions kicked off on Tuesday
Liam, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson pictured with Simon in 2015
Liam had his first audition for the fifth series of The X Factor in 2008, when he was just 14 years old (pictured in 2010)
He was cut again during judges’ houses but was encouraged by Simon to return in two years (pictured in 2010)
Liam’s final Snapchat post showed him happily posing with his bikini-clad partner Kate Cassidy as they looked into a mirror – with the throwback photo previously shared by Kate to mark his 30th birthday last year.
Liam had his first audition for the fifth series of The X Factor in 2008, when he was just 14 years old.
The audition was held in front of judges Simon, Cheryl Cole, Dannii Minogue and Louis Walsh.
He advanced past the first round of X Factor after impressing the judges with his rendition of Frank Sinatra’s ‘Fly Me to the Moon.’
Though he was initially eliminated at the Boot Camp stage, Simon brought Liam back for the judges’ houses stage.
He was cut again during judges’ houses but was encouraged by Simon to return in two years.
The singer returned to the show in 2010, auditioning in front of Simon, Cheryl, Louie and guest judge Natalie Imbruglia.
Following a suggestion from former judge Nicole Scherzinger, he was put together with Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson to form a boy band.
