Simon Cowell takes immediate break from BGT after Liam Payne’s tragic death

Former One Direction singer Liam Payne has died aged 31 after falling from a hotel third floor while on holiday in Argentina with his girlfriend, Kate Cassidy

Simon Cowell will reportedly be taking a break from his role on Britain's Got Talent after hearing the sad news of Liam Payne's tragic death.

The One Direction, 31, star fell from the third floor of a hotel building in the Argentinian capital. Police, firefighters and ambulances were seen outside of a hotel building after Liam tragically fell. Police are said to have been called to reports of a man acting aggressively at the hotel who could be under the effect of drink or drugs.

A body was found in an internal patio of the hotel. The police were called to the hotel by the hotel manager. It's believed that Liam fell from around 13 or 14 metres and suffered "very serious injuries incompatible with life."

In a statement, the local ambulance manager told TN: "At 17.04 through the 911 integrated public safety system, we were alerted of a person who was in an internal courtyard of the management of a south house hotel.

“There is an internal courtyard where the victim fell, with tables and chairs: the hotel’s confectionery shop operates there. The space has a retractable roof that was open at the time. Fortunately, there were no other people there,” sources in the case said.

Reports claim that Liam had checked into a hotel alone before his death. 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.”

Liam had said on social media: "We're going to Argentina. One, because we have to, and two, because we want to, and three, because Niall Horan's playing down there and I think we might just go and say 'Hello'. It's been a while since me and Niall have spoken. We've got a lot to talk about and I would like to square up a couple things with the boy. No bad vibes or nothing like that, but just, we need to talk."

Following the news of Liam's tragic death, music mogul Simon, 65, will be taking an immediate break from his duties on Britain's Got Talent. The X Factor mogul will miss filming for Britain's Got Talent this week and judge Bruno Tonioli will replace him, according to The Sun.

Filming for the ITV1 show was halted on Wednesday in the wake of Liam tragic death. It will resume on Sunday as the auditions continue - but Simon will not be there.

Simon's fellow judges, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon, KSI and Bruno will continue filming while the music mogul takes some time away from his duties to come to terms with Liam's tragic passing.

"This news has hit Simon incredibly hard - he is utterly shocked and devastated," an insider told the publication. "He adored Liam, and was close to his family with whom he is sure to reach out privately.

"He didn't feel it was right to continue with filming BGT, and when it resumes on Saturday, does not feel he'll be in the right headspace to continue. All the judges and production crew are being hugely supportive," they added.

It comes after Simon broke his cover after learning the tragic news about the former One Direction singer. Although Nicole Scherzinger was the brains behind One Direction's creation, Simon was instrumental in their success after they signed to his record label, Syco. But despite appearing as though Liam, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, Harry Styles and Zayn Malik were the best of friends – it was far from it.

Simon was seen being driven by his security after it was announced he'd made the decision to halt Britain's Got Talent auditions in the wake of Liam's death. He covered his eyes with a pair of black over-sized Aviator shades as he had a heartbreakingly solemn look on his face.

He previously shared his regret after handing the One Direction name to the five lads – meaning he made no profit from them. He told Steven Bartlett on the Diary of a CEO podcast: "One thing I regret, is, I should have kept the name. I should have owned the name." He later confirmed that the band members own the name One Direction, adding: "That's the problem, could have made an animation or whatever but when you give an artist the name, it's not yours and that's my only regret.

Follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads.