Cheryl Tweedy went "bright red" when she heard Liam Payne fancied her

Speaking on 'The Graham Norton Show', Liam, 23, said: "I told Simon how hot I thought she was. Weeks and months went by and then Niall said, 'You'll never guess who fancies you!' Apparently he had been with Cheryl when Simon told her that I fancied her – she had turned bright red and left the room!"

The couple welcomed their first child Bear two months ago and Liam admitted starting a family and a solo career at the same time was not planned.

He said: "I'd like to say I was a man for planning, but it just kind of happened!

"I had thought about not going solo because I wanted to write and chill out but when the opportunity came along it seemed wrong to turn it down after working so hard for 10 years."

Gushing about Bear, he added: "He is two months old now and massive. He's really tall and will probably be a basketball player.

"I was there at the birth and it was amazing and then I was left in charge – I'd never changed a nappy before I met Bear and all went well brilliantly until five in the morning, Bear wakes up and Cheryl changes his nappy – there was poo and spouting wee everywhere!"

And the 'Strip That Down' singer recently gushed that fatherhood was "the best thing ever".

He said: "Fatherhood is the best thing ever. It's been nice. The highlight of my day was when he smiled at me in the bath. Baby Bear is amazing. He makes me smile every second of the day. It's great. It's the best thing in the world being a parent. It's the greatest thing in the world. You hear a lot of parents saying there isn't anything like it and I agree."