Ant Middleton says he and Liam Payne 'built brotherly bond' in moving tribute

Ant Middleton, the former SAS: Who Dares Wins star, has paid a heartfelt tribute to his "little brother" Liam Payne, who's died at the age of 31.

The two struck up a strong friendship whilst collaborating on a documentary. Shortly after Liam's death was announced, Ant appeared on ITV's Good Morning Britain on a video link from Australia where he had earlier heard the tragic news during a live interview while discussing his upcoming documentary.

While speaking with hosts Richard Madeley and Kate Garraway, he described Liam's death as "a tragic loss". Describing his initial reaction, Ant confessed: "I was just shocked, I was lost for words to be honest. He was such a positive outgoing guy who I believed just lacked a sense of belonging when he left the band."

Reflecting on their shared experiences, Ant disclosed: "And when we did our special together in Namibia I could relate with that because when I left the military I sort of lost my sense of belonging. We had a great conversation on how that sense of belonging is lost and we try and re-identify ourselves and re-establish ourselves and we became very, very close after that and he would call me. I only lived about an hour away from him so I'd jump in a car and go to his and we'd have lunch and spend some evenings together and we just built that brotherly bond together," reports the Mirror.

He further discussed how "focused" Liam had been while preparing for Soccer Aid, where he found his "new belonging" as captain of the England squad post-One Direction days, as Ant warmly recalled: "I believe once those things left him he was looking for something again. It was sad to see him bumping his head against a brick wall sometimes."

Ant shared that Liam had a passion for painting and drawing, describing him as "incredible" in these pursuits. He also mentioned how Liam would often contemplate reuniting the boy band, which always brought a spark to his eyes.

"There was talk always of getting the boy band back together and when there was talk of that he lit up, his face lit up - that really was his belonging and I believe his safe haven."

Ant also described Liam as a "proud dad" to son Bear, whom he shares with Cheryl Cole. "When he spoke about Bear his face lit up and I was privy to photos he showed me."

Liam died after falling from a balcony at a hotel in Buenos Aires on Wednesday around 5pm local time.

Ant and Liam's friendship began at the opening of Mark Wahlberg's Wahlburgers restaurant in Covent Garden, London. This led to them creating the TV documentary together, prompting deep conversations about fatherhood, drinking, and relationships.

The pair embarked on this journey without a camera or phone.

Good Morning Britain is on ITV1 weekdays at 6am and on ITVX