Liam Payne's career 'plagued by addiction' ahead of 'dreadful' death: 'He was facing a lot of pressure'

Dedicated fans have flocked to the CasaSur Palermo Hotel to lay candles and floral tributes after hearing the news of his untimely death.

Many British celebrities who knew Payne, who rose to fame on the British talent show The X Factor at just 14 years old, have paid tribute to the star, including the show's former host Dermot O'Leary, who said he was "polite, grateful, and was always humble".

Discussing the singer's death on GB News, showbiz reporter Stephanie Takyi recalled her own experiences of interviewing Payne, highlighting how "warm-hearted" he was as a person.

Takyi revealed: "When you get fame that young, as I've seen with most of these pop stars, sometimes they become a bit egotistical and they lose their way. But that wasn't the case with Liam. He was very warm-hearted.

"I interviewed him just after he became a father and welcomed his son Bear with Cheryl Cole, and I could see it literally brought light into his life becoming a father."

However, Takyi noted Payne's very public battle with alcohol and drug addictions, and how the 31-year-old had always been "open" about his struggles, but his career had become "plagued" by them.

Takyi explained: "Over the past few years he's been on a solo journey, trying to find himself, trying to establish himself as a solo artist.

"He had moments where he was there and he was at the top of the game, maybe not like Harry Styles, but his career was always plagued with addiction, stints in rehab, which he was quite open about.

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"There was nothing to hide about the problems he was going through. And it was one of those things where I think what's happened is like to find that fame at 16 and then to be out of the boyband by 21. It's like, how do you move on from that?"

Turning the discussion to Payne's struggles in the last few weeks of his life, Takyi revealed that he had been under "a lot of pressure" from social media, after ex-fiance Maya Henry went public with her past relationship with the One Direction star, planning to take legal action against him.

Takyi told GB News: "Over the past few weeks, he has been ridiculed online for some of his recent appearances, including one at Niall's concert where people making fun of him saying he was acting a bit strange.

"He was also facing a potential legal case with one of his former lovers, so there was a lot of pressure on Liam before his death, including he was working on a second album, which had to be rewritten. So there was a lot going on and a lot of struggles with him."

Stressing that fans and the public "should not speculate" as to what happened to Payne, Takyi reflected on how the singer's life has been "brought to a very sad halt", and how he was "such a lovable character" behind the scenes.

Takyi concluded: "It's just a bit too shocking, especially for Liam Payne. I just think he was just such a lovable character.

"And he was battling through those demons, just hoping that he was going to get on the other side, and there were plans for him to go on tour, and it just seems like everything has just been brought to a very sad halt.

"I just think there is that price of fame, but he loved his fans. I don't think the fans are the problem here, but it's the other side. You've got this voice and you're no longer a part of the boyband that made you a success. What do you do next?

"He hasn't enjoyed the same success as Harry Styles has, he was like the breakout star. So you're kind of left to your own devices and you're surrounded by lots of yes people."