Simon Cowell may not have been present for last night’s opening live episode of The X Factor, but there were plenty of old faces around.
Not least among them was Cheryl, who was in the audience watching events unfold.
She was there partly to carry on her role from the judges’ houses round, but also to support boyfriend Liam Payne.
Read more: Liam Payne has some bad news for One Direction fans
Liam, a former contestant as part of One Direction, was on the show to perform his latest single, Bedroom Floor, and host Dermot O’ Leary couldn’t resist grabbing a quick chat with the star.
Dermot, who introduced 24 year old Liam as a ‘borderline over’ in a cheeky reference to Liam’s age nudging him towards the older category of contestant, had plenty of questions for Liam on opening night.
Liam spoke about his memories of the show’s first live performance of the series and revealed that it was a nerve- wracking experience for him back in 2010.
“The sliding doors; when you come from behind the doors, you’re thinking, ‘Oh my God, there are millions of people watching from behind that camera and you just don’t know what to do with yourself,” he confessed.
“But you have to take a deep breath and pretend everyone ‘aint there and just sell it down the camera,” he continued.
Referring to his run on The X factor with One Direction that took the band to the final stage where they lost out to runner- up Rebecca Ferguson and winner Matt Cardle, Liam said he was always first up.
“I was always the starter,”“”
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