5 After Midnight back Liam and Cheryl in Louis Walsh war

One Direction star Liam Payne had some strong words for X Factor’s Louis Walsh this week, following the pint-sized pop judge’s recent strong comments about Panye’s missus Cheryl Cole.

Now Walsh’s X Factor finalists 5 After Midnight have waded into the war, and you might be surprised by who they’re backing.

This week, Walsh told a reporter to “F**ck off” after the plucky journo brought up the idea of Cheryl returning to X Factor, to which Payne said – via Twitter – Walsh should “shut the f**k up for once”.

5 After Midnight appear to have taken sides in the latest row, and we hope it doesn’t lead to an awks conversation when they’re reunited with Walsh at the weekend.

They definitely seem more concerned with Payne’s pain than they are with sticking up for their mardy mentor.

In a conversation on Lorraine, the group found themselves defending Liam’s temper tantrum.

They said: “We really support them, Cheryl and Liam and the baby situation.”

Kieran added: “I know how they feel, I’ve got a baby myself. We are really supportive of them.”

This isn’t the first time Louis has waged war with Cheryl. Louis has a bit of history with Cheryl, he managed Girls Aloud after they found fame on Popstars: The Rivals, and got a subtle dig in about the group on a recent X Factor episode, introducing his act Four of Diamonds on this season’s Girl Group versus Boy Band week, saying: “These are four of the nicest girls I’ve ever worked with.”