Britain's Got Talent auditions resume in Blackpool without Simon Cowell after death of Liam Payne

Auditions for the talent show were postponed following the "devastating" death of singer Liam Payne, who worked closely with head judge Simon Cowell. Credit: PA Images

Britain's Got Talent filming has resumed without head judge Simon Cowell after auditions were postponed following the death of singer Liam Payne.

The former One Direction star and father-of-one died on Wednesday, 16 October, after falling from the third-floor balcony of a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The ITV talent show’s latest round of auditions were supposed to be held at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool on the day of his passing, but the show's producers cancelled filming.

A spokesman 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."

Simon Cowell, a judge on the talent show, worked with Payne on The X Factor in 2010, putting One Direction together.

Payne teaming up with Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Harry Styles as they came third on the show.

Cowell, who later signed them to his Syco Records label as they went on to sell more than 70 million records worldwide, joined those in the music industry and beyond in remembering the singer.

“You never really know how you feel about someone until a moment like this happens,” he said in a statement on Instagram. “Liam, I am truly devastated. Heartbroken. And I feel empty.

“And I want you to know how much love and respect I have for you. Every tear I have shed is a memory of you.”

Simon Cowell worked with Liam Payne on The X Factor. Credit: PA Images

Cowell said the singer’s seven-year-old son, whose mother is former X Factor judge Cheryl, will be “so proud” of what he achieved during his 31 years.

“I have met your son, Bear. He has your smile and that twinkle in his eyes you have,” Cowell wrote. "He will be so proud of everything you achieved. And how you achieved it.”

The 65-year-old titan of the music industry said he would tell the thousands of fans that Payne was “kind, funny, sweet, thoughtful, talented, humble, focused” and “how much love you genuinely had for the fans”.

Payne first auditioned for The X Factor in 2008 when he was 14, singing Frank Sinatra’s Fly Me To The Moon, with judge Cowell telling him to return to the talent show two years later.

In 2010 he impressed the judges with a rendition of Michael Buble’s Cry Me A River before being put with four other solo hopefuls at the boot camp stage of the competition – the group which later became One Direction.

Liam Payne died after falling from a hotel balcony in Argentina. Credit: PA Images

“I had to tell you when you were 14 that this wasn’t your time. And we both made a promise that we would meet again. A lot of people would have given up. You didn’t.

“You came back and within months the whole world knew Liam. And you never forgot the fans. I watched you spending so much time with people who had wanted to meet you. You really cared.”

Cowell said that Payne had visited him last year “not for a meeting, just to sit and talk” and they “reminisced about all of the fun times we had together”.

“After you left, I was reminded that you were still the sweet, kind boy I had met all of those years ago,” he added.

Police in Buenos Aires said Payne fell from a third floor balcony into the courtyard of the Casa Sur Hotel in the Palermo neighbourhood of Argentina’s capital, before medics confirmed his death.

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