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‘Just a boy’ – tribute to Liam Payne, who died aged 31

BBC A man takes photos with fans at an awards ceremonyBBC

Liam Payne arrives at the 2015 BBC Music Awards

Celebrities have paid tribute to former One Direction star Liam Payne following his ‘devastating’ death at the age of 31.

The pop star, who rose to fame on The X Factor in 2010, died after falling from the third floor of a hotel in Argentina, police say.

Following his death at around 5pm (9pm BST; 8pm GMT) on Wednesday, stars expressed their shock and posted memories of the father who shared a son, Bear, with former partner Girls Aloud star Cheryl.

Dermot O’Leary, who was presenting The X Factor when Liam appeared, posted a photo of the pair on stage, captioning the Instagram post: “The worst news.”

“I remember when he was 14 years old auditioning for 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.”

Liam was one of the five members of One Direction, along with Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Harry Styles.

Harry’s mother Anne Twist also paid tribute, posting a broken heart emoji on Instagram with the caption: “Just a boy.”

Singer Olly Murs, who starred on The X Factor a year before One Direction, said he was “lost for words” and described Payne’s death on Instagram as “devastating”.

Olly said: “We always had a good laugh when we saw each other, sometimes the conversations were 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.

“Liam shared the same passions as me, the same dreams, so to see his life end so young is hard. I am truly devastated and devastated for his family and of course for his son Bear who is losing a father.”

PA Media Five young men pose with an award on a red carpet PA media

Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne, Zayn Malik and Niall Horan of One Direction with their award for Best British Single in the press room at the 2012 Brit Awards at the O2 Arena, London

The Wanted star Max George described his death as “absolutely devastating news”.

“Over the last few years I have had the pleasure of getting to know him personally and spending precious time with him,” he said on Instagram.

“Liam was absolutely amazing in terms of support when Tom (Parker) fell ill while performing with us at the Royal Albert Hall for Stand Up To Cancer.

“He personally supported me a lot after Tom passed away. I will never forget that.”

American singer Charlie Puth, co-writer of Payne’s 2017 song Bedroom Floor, said he was “in shock” after Payne’s death.

Charlie posted images of the pair working together, alongside the caption “Liam was always so nice to me.”

PA Media A woman and a man stand side by side at a red carpet eventPA media

Liam Payne and his ex-partner Cheryl attended the Brit Awards at the O2 Arena in 2018

“He was one of the first great artists I had the pleasure of working with. I can’t believe he’s gone… I’m so upset right now, may he rest in peace.”

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Socialite Paris Hilton also paid tribute to X, calling the singer’s death “so disturbing”.

DJ and music producer Zedd, who featured with Payne on the 2017 song Get Low, called the singer’s death “absolutely heartbreaking.”

American singer and rapper Ty Dolla Sign said he would “miss” Payne, captioning videos and photos on his Instagram Story: “I just talked to you two days ago my man.”