Simon Cowell 'stops Britain's Got Talent filming over Liam Payne's death'

Filming in Blackpool is understood to have been stopped

ITV Britain's Got Talent has paused filming in the wake of Liam Payne's death. The One Direction star, who found fame on the show, died at the age of 31 yesterday (Wednesday, October 16).

He is said to have fallen from the third floor of a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Local police said the dad-of-one fell from into the courtyard of the CasaSur Palermo Hotel.

Britain's Got Talent judges Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and special guest judge KS gathered in Blackpool Winter Gardens to mark the start of the new series. KSI is temporarily stepping in for judge Bruno Tonioli.

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But filming of the auditions is understood to have now been brought to a stop following Wolverhampton-born Payne's death. On X, formerly known as Twitter, Applause Store - which hands out tickets to BGT - said filming had stopped.

It said today (Thursday, October 17): "Due to the tragic passing of Liam Payne, BGT has decided to postpone today's auditions in Blackpool. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause."

Alberto Crescenti, head of the state emergency medical system, said on Argentina’s Todo Noticias TV channel that Payne fell into a courtyard of the hotel, which is in the Palermo neighbourhood of Argentina’s capital. The late singer is said to have been in Buenos Aires to attend the concert of his former bandmate Niall Horan.