Simon Cowell was "absolutely devastated" by the death of Liam Payne, according to his close friend Sinitta

Sinitta told OK!: "On the night it happened I had gone to bed early but left my phone on in the other room. I kept hearing it clicking with new messages. In the morning, I saw the messages and was in complete shock. I literally couldn't speak. It was like living through a nightmare."

The 61-year-old star contacted her former partner Cowell and admits that his heartbroken reaction has remained in her mind ever since.

Sinitta recalled: "He was absolutely devastated. I hadn't heard him so upset since his mum died. He sobbed down the phone to me. He couldn't contain his emotions - it was hard to know what to say to him."

The star explained that she "couldn't stop thinking" about Liam's former partner Cheryl and the couple's son Bear, eight, when she heard about his passing.

She said: "All I could think about was Cheryl and Bear."

Sinitta explained that she still thought of Liam as a "little boy" after meeting him as a teenager - two years before he was put together with his One Direction bandmates on the 2010 series of the reality show and propelled to global fame.

She said: "To me, he was still that little boy who made it all the way to Barbados (for Judges' Houses) because he was determined to be on the show.

"Simon and I loved him and begged him to come back. He did - and ended up being the lead singer in One Direction. You never expect anyone younger than you to suddenly die."

Cowell, 65, attended Liam's funeral and consoled his parents Karen and Geoff and Sinitta felt that the act was testament to the character of a man she has known for more than 40 years.

She said: "It was very brave of him to be able to go the funeral and comfort Liam's parents."