Zayn Malik’s older sister Doniya has revealed that she gets on really well with the former One Direction heartthrob and he’s very ‘protective’ of her.

During a new interview with the BBC Asian Network, she explained that her relationship with her brother is a close one because there are only nine months between them: “Because me and Zayn are very close in age, we've grown up together. Actually he bosses me around, he acts like a big protective brother which is quite nice at times.”

She added that while her brother was spoilt by their parents, she also got some preferential treatment as she was the first grandchild in the family: "He was quite spoilt growing up, but I'd say I was actually more spoilt than Zayn because I was the first grandchild.”

As previously reported, Doniya also praised Malik's fiancée Perrie Edwards: "It's pretty cool. Perrie's a really nice girl, she's really friendly, very easy to get on with, down-to-earth, so I'd say just how it is with my sisters."

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Watch footage of Zayn Malik honouring his former 1D bandmates here: