'I shouldn't have been on stage': Liam Payne battled with mental health issues in One Direction

Liam Payne has opened up about his battle with mental health during his time with One Direction, saying he should not have been allowed to perform.

Payne, 24, said at the height of the band’s success he was going through a “rough time” and putting on a front for fans.

“I shouldn’t have been able to do as many shows as we did, if I’m honest about it, if I’m brutally honest about it,” he told The Sun.

“Going out and putting that happy smile on my face and singing the songs, honestly, sometimes it was like putting on one of those costumes, going out there and, underneath the costume, people don't really see what’s going on.

“And unfortunately I was going through a rough time and I let it get to me a little bit too much.”

The boyband were forced to cancel the first of three shows in Belfast in 2015 minutes before taking to the stage after Payne was “taken ill”.

It was reported at the time that he had suffered a back stage meltdown after struggling to cope with the “pressures of fame”.

Payne said the group, who went on an indefinite hiatus in 2016, should have taken more time to appreciate “how great things were”.

He said: “The more we did, I just don't think we stopped and celebrated enough how great things were and I think that's what got on top of us in the end.

“We needed a realisation point to find the love for it again, rather than it just becoming a job.

“I’m a totally different person now to how I used to be about it.”

Payne recently launched his solo career after becoming a father to son Bear with Cheryl.