JB Gill, former member of the boy band JLS, has shared his desire to dance to one of Liam Payne’s songs as a tribute to the late star.

Partnered with professional dancer Amy Dowden on this series of Strictly Come Dancing, the 37-year-old said: ‘If there’s an opportunity, I’d love to do it [dance to one of his songs]. It'd be an incredible tribute.

‘He was a very good friend, we literally met him when he was starting his journey out.

'It was before he had the success of One Direction, because he was just a solo artist in the same year that we were in the X factor and got onto the live shows.

‘I just remember him following the boys and I around.'

JB added: ‘He wanted to be in JLS, to be honest. But when he got knocked out at boot camp, we said "just keep going, keep working hard, you'll get your chance". I'm obviously glad that he was able to do that.’

Speaking at a Strictly Round table, the television presenter said his friend's death is 'incredibly sad'.

‘I don't know all the ins and outs... But one of the things I've taken as a silver lining is that he was actually able to do what he set out to do, which was to sing and share his voice with the world.

‘I think it's something that anyone who knew him, even his fans, will be able to take away from this incredibly sad situation.'

Discussing the pressures of being in a boy band, the father of two highlighted the maturity differences between himself and Liam when they were starting out, noting that this made a 'massive difference'.

‘When we were going through that process (of the X-Factor), we were slightly older than the One Direction boys.

‘I'd already been to university, I'd already had a bit of world experience. And that makes a massive difference.’

The Down on the Farm and Songs of Praise presenter urged the entertainment industry to better nurture young talent.

'I don't personally disagree with having a child star, but I do disagree with not being able to nurture them and protect them, and especially if they're individual,' he said.

‘The relationship we [JLS] have with each other, we look after each other. That doesn't always happen in every group.

He added: ‘It's not always down to the members, but certainly to the people who are managing and the labels and the people who are kind of championing the group and championing the people who are on that stage, you have to look after them.

‘It's one thing I've never really understood about the industry, because artists sometimes are seen as commodities or assets, or whatever you want to call it. And it does sound bad, but at the end of the day, it makes no sense not to protect that.

‘So we have to definitely change the way that we approach certain things and how we look after people.’

As a parent, Gill is acutely attuned to these challenges, especially since his own children made their acting debuts together in a BBC drama in 2022.

‘Not every parent has that knowledge or that understanding or that background,’ he said.

‘For those who are seasoned professionals within the industry, it falls to them to be able to protect and look after the people who are going to be on that stage.’