Liam Payne feared One Direction success would kill him after 'losing control' of his life

Liam Payne has candidly discussed the “real episode” he ended up in at the peak of his career with One Direction.

One Direction went on hiatus in 2016 after enjoying massive global fame following their stint on The X Factor where they came third in 2010.

Payne, 26, has now spoken out about the pressures of being in the world's biggest boyband, sharing he feared the success would "kill" him.

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"I felt like I was in a bit of a self-destruct mode because I knew it was going really well," he told Jessie Ware on her podcast, Table Manners.

"The worst part of it is, and one thing I’d say to people getting into doing this sort of stuff, is that the success is the bit that will kill you, more than anything.

"There’s no stop button, you’ve got no control over your life. And I lost complete control of everything and the last two years have been trying to take control of life back and understanding that it’s on me, if that makes sense."

The father-of-one also explained how he went through a "real episode", telling himself "you’re either going to end up crazy child star who dies at whatever age or you’re going to live life and get on with it properly".

Since leaving the band behind Payne has embarked on a solo career, releasing eight singles and one EP since 2017.

He shares a son, Bear Payne, with former Girls Aloud member Cheryl, whom he was formerly in a relationship with before they split in July last year.

Cheryl, 36, has hit back at claims they broke up six months before officially announcing the break-up, with a representative of star dubbing reports suggesting they split in January 2018 as "nonsense".