Zayn Malik talked about walking away from chart toppers One Direction long before he made the decision to finally go, according to JLS star Oritse Williams.

Oritse told the Daily Mirror that Zayn spoke to him about leaving the band during a trip to Las Vegas last September.

Oritse Williams
Oritse Williams (Philip Toscano/PA)

“Zayn spoke to me when we were together in Vegas last year,” said Oritse. “Niall did too. Zayn was talking to me in confidence.

“I told him he had a great run and to enjoy it. They are very, very blessed guys.

“It’s a very special thing and not a lot of artists show gratitude for that. But I told him to be himself and to keep going.”

Zayn Malik with his mother Trisha
Zayn Malik with his mother Trisha (Joel Ryan/Invision)

Zayn, who recently turned up at an awards do with his mum, quit the band last month, saying he wanted to live life as a “normal 22-year-old”.

He recently broke his Twitter silence to thank fans and friends for their support.