Cheryl opens up on Girls Aloud's future in new interview days before Liam Payne's death
An interview has emerged in which Cheryl speaks about the future of her band Girls Aloud - recorded a week before the death of her ex Liam Payne. The One Direction singer tragically died aged 31 on October 16 after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Cheryl, who shared seven-year-old Bear with Liam, spoke out about his death on social media in the days after, writing: "As I try to navigate this earth shattering event, and work through my own grief at this indescribably painful time, I'd like to kindly remind everyone that we have lost a human being. Liam was not only a pop star and celebrity, he was a son, a brother, an uncle, a dear friend and a father to our 7 year old son. A son that now has to face the reality of never seeing his father again."
Now, Cheryl is set to make her first TV appearance since Liam's death in The Girls Aloud Show: The Interview - which was recorded on October 8 and has already dropped on ITVX. Speaking to Ben Shephard about the Girls Aloud reunion tour alongside bandmates Nadine Coyle, Nicola Roberts and Kimberly Walsh, Cheryl spoke about the band's future.
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"We’re catching our breath, one thing I have learnt in my infinite wisdom, at my ripe age, is that you can genuinely never say never," she said, with Nicola adding: "I don’t think we saw ourselves doing this tour. At one time, we didn’t think we could see us doing this."
She continued: "The music industry is such a young place, that when you’re that young and you’re shrouded in that ageism you just think we could never possibly do that at that age."
The four remaining members of Girls Aloud reunited with a tour in honour of Sarah Harding, who passed away in 2021 aged 39 after being diagnosed with breast cancer. "We were really conscious the whole time of making sure it wasn’t too sad because she wasn’t a sad character, she was the bubbliest one of us all," Cheryl said in the special. "We wanted to keep her spirit amongst it as well as representing her and having her there throughout the show, but not in a sad way. The situation is sad enough."
Cheryl's interview for the special was recorded eight days before Liam's sudden death, since which she has stayed out of the spotlight. In her social media post about Liam, she also spoke about reading negative reports about the late pop star. "Before you leave comments or make videos, ask yourselves if you’d like your own family or child to read them. Please give Liam the little dignity he has left in the wake of his death to rest in some peace at last. Thank you, Cheryl."
