Music mogul Simon Cowell has revealed that he tried to talk Zayn Malik out of quitting One Direction, but knew that it was hopeless as he could tell the superstar had already given up. 

Speaking to James Corden on 'The Late Late Show', the star explained that he did all he could to keep the band as a five-piece, but it ended up being a situation that was entirely out of his hands: "I was trying to say to him [Zayn] he should stay around a bit longer. But something inside him said he'd had enough."

"I saw him in person as well - but once someone has made their mind up they are going to go. At the same time I don't want to push him too much because he's 22 and I could see he was a bit stressed and needed some time off. I was just about to jump off a cliff."

Cowell added: "I dealt with it then I made sure the guys were OK - because they were shocked as well. So I had to respect his decision. For the boys it was interesting because they were in the middle of these live shows at the time. Then I watched the show back and they were incredible. I have a feeling they are going to deliver the best record they have ever made."

Follow us: @Pressparty on Twitter / Pressparty on Facebook.