Liam Payne's friend reacts to his death on live tv

Liam Payne's close friend learned about his death just before appearing on live TV.

Former One Direction star, Payne, passed away at the age of 31 on Wednesday night.

During the interview on Sunrise, Ant Middleton was asked about his bond with the late singer.

Middleton, who filmed the documentary Ant Middleton & Liam Payne: Straight Talkingm with the singer in 2019, said in the interview, "I speak to Liam quite often, he’s a good friend of mine."

He expressed his shocked on the news, saying, "And, wow, I’m shocked, this is obviously the first I’m hearing of it. I don’t really know what to say about that. I’m going to have to make sure that I reach out to the relevant people to find out what’s happened to my good friend."

"But I’m away filming at the moment as you can see, that’s why I’m wet and there’s a bit of noise around me. But yeah, my condolences and I hope they find out what’s gone on," Middleton continued.

He recalled, "After we filmed Straight Talking with Ant Middleton, we formed a brotherhood. He was like a younger brother to me. He would confide in me, I’d go 'round and see him'," adding, "There were some issues there, but nothing that a young celebrity at his caliber wouldn’t suffer from. So I’m just shocked at the moment really, wow. Yeah. Don’t really know what to say."

"He had a lovely aura around him, he was a lovely guy, he had positive energy around him. He was a visionary, he always thought and dreamed big and that's why he got to where he was. h was loved. He was one of those band members that was the glue, I believe, for One Direction. It's a shame to see such a positive individual die so young."