Liam Payne's cousin Ross Harris has spoken out in his first live TV interview since the One Direction star's death, revealing he missed a phone call from Liam on the day he died.
Appearing on Good Morning Britain on Thursday, August 27, Ross paid tribute to Liam, who died aged 31 in October 2024 after falling from a hotel balcony in Argentina. An investigation into his death is still ongoing.
Missed Call on the Day of Death
Ross told hosts Ranvir Singh and Adil Ray: “He called me, I guess in the afternoon our time. And I was in a writing session... I think my phone was down, so I missed it when we were recording.
“I saw it a few hours later, and thought, I’ll call him back. We finished and I called him, I think it was already too late. It was a strange thing to process.
“And at first, before we knew the context, it was a lot harder around the circumstances. Now, it’s nice to look back and think, he just wanted to chat,” reports the Daily Star.
Regret and Reflection
He went on to say that knowing he was on Liam’s mind is “nicer than the alternative” of thinking Liam was calling for help, which he now doesn’t believe. He added: “It’s going to be a sort of regret that lives with me.”
In a pre-recorded interview with Good Morning Britain ahead of the live one, Ross had recalled his earliest memories with Liam from their childhood, and how he had taught him songs on the piano.
However, after concerns for Liam after he found fame, Ross said he would now change things if he could. "Hindsight's a beautiful, awful thing where if I could go back, I would change absolutely everything," he said.
Feelings of Being Unloved
He had also spoken about how he felt as though Liam didn’t feel very loved after finding fame. Ross said: “He didn’t feel very loved, which is ironic for a superstar, because he has a million people plus who love him. They loved Liam Payne, he needs someone to love Liam, if that makes sense.
“Not that the fans didn’t give him love because he absolutely adored them and was so grateful for them. But on a personal level, when you don’t have anyone around you, you worry who cares for you.
“I was going to send a couple of messages to people who I know, people who he knows, mutual friends in the industry, just to say like, when he gets back, shall we go over there and hang out and be there and move on to the next phase of his life, to make sure he’s loved, effectively.”
He added: “It’s like a dream to go on a TV show and become a superstar, but that dream can end in the worst possible way, which we have unfortunately experienced here.”
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays from 6am on ITV1 and ITVX.
