Louis Tomlinson as X Factor judge: One Direction star assures fans over 'career sabotaging' role

Don’t panic.

Louis Tomlinson has confirmed he’s a new X Factor judge – and he promises he will still make new music.

The former One Direction star was forced to defend his decision to join Simon Cowell on the ITV show that made him famous after fans feared it would interfere with the release of his debut solo album.

Tomlinson posted a video message to fans hours after he was unveiled as a new judge alongside Cowell and Robbie Williams and his wife Ayda Field.

He assured fans that music is “definitely my priority” and that the reality show could help his solo career.

“I just wanted to thank everyone for the support so far and I want everyone to not worry too much about the album,” he said.

“It’s still definitely my priority. It doesn’t change any release time. I came from the show so it made a lot of sense for me to go on.”

Tomlinson, who found fame on the show as one fifth of hit boy band One Direction in 2010, said he has “always been interested in mentoring”.

He continued: “As soon as I got the assurance that it wasn’t going to affect any of my music, actually it was going to help it, I could seriously start thinking about it. I only really made the decision quite recently. So I just wanted to bring you all up to speed.”

Tomlinson posted the video on Twitter alongside the caption: “Gonna do a little video message tonight to talk about everything. Music is always my priority obviously! Love you all.”

It was liked by 139,000 fans who had earlier expressed concern over the fate of his music, with some claiming the X Factor move was “career sabotaging”.

Tomlinson released his debut solo single Just Hold On with Steve Aoki in 2016 months after One Direction announced they were taking a hiatus. He then dropped Back To You, his single with Bebe Rexha and Digital Farm Animals, the following year.

The X Factor returns to screens later this year