The father of One Direction star Harry Styles has admitted he thought the age gap between his son and Caroline Flack was 'a bit ridiculous.'

The then 17-year-old dated The Xtra Factor presenter, 15 years his senior, for three months late last year, but his dad, Des, told the Daily Record that he never thought the pair were suited to each other:

“With Caroline Flack, you can imagine, dads and sons, it’s like, ‘Fair play, son.’ But it was a bit ridiculous, 32 or whatever she was and 17. It’s a bit extreme really.”

But he went on to add that he’s not surprised that Harry has attracted so much female attention:

“We went on holiday once to Cyprus when he was nine and as we left there was a whole melee of teenage girls, 16, 17-year-olds gathered by the side of the bus saying, ‘bye Harry, we love you’. How did he do that?

“He’s just got this fantastic personable demeanour to him. Clearly he’s a bit special.

“It’s not just his looks but he’s very charming, it’s like a gift really. I always knew he’d succeed at whatever he did because he’d always charm people, from performing in the car or on ­holiday he’d always be able to hold a crowd or hold a room even when he was a kid."