Liam Payne’s sister Ruth Gibbins has said she is “heartbroken” that her late brother won’t get to see his last TV appearance.
The former One Direction star signed on for the Netflix singing competition, Building The Band, just two months before his death in October 2024, aged 31.
Payne appears as a guest judge and mentor on the series alongside Destiny's Child’s Kelly Rowland and The Pussycat Dolls’ Nicole Scherzinger, as they give guidance to six bands formed without ever seeing each other.
The second trailer for the series was released on Tuesday (24 June), with Payne shown sharing his advice with the budding musicians from the judge’s chair.
Gibbins has shared her heartbreak that Payne never got to see the finished series, but said she watched the trailer with “immeasurable pride” for the late popstar.
“I didn’t know whether to share this, but it felt weird when I’ve raved about Liam’s work and achievements for the last 15 years,” she wrote.
She added: “I'm heartbroken he never got to see how great he is in this show. He knew he had done a good job, we all told him this when we were at filming, but watching it back, wow!”
“You’re a star Liam, you always were and always will be,” Gibbins said. “There are a range of emotions I felt watching this, but one of the main ones is immeasurable pride, always. Miss you more every day.”
In the trailer, Payne is shown in a rehearsal room with band members, telling them, “I need to feel that connection between you guys.” In another moment, he is seen arriving in the filming studio, waving at the audience, and later leaping out of his judge’s chair to applaud a band performing onstage.
Another moment sees Payne giving a band mentorship, comparing the competition to his own experience as a contestant on The X Factor, where he was paired with his One Direction bandmates in 2010. “How these bands are put together is not normal,” he tells a contestant. “We weren’t put together that way.”
Netflix said in a press release that Payne’s family had “reviewed the series and [was] supportive of his inclusion” in the programme.
The show, hosted by Backstreet Boys star AJ McLean, sees 50 musicians placed in individual booths to listen to their fellow contestants and decide who they want to team up with. They are then partnered with their bandmates without ever seeing each other.
“All they have to go on is musical compatibility, connection, chemistry and merit,” the show’s synopsis says. “What will happen when the bands finally meet, and looks, choreography and style come into play?”
The first four episodes will air on 9 July, with the remaining episodes scheduled for release on 16 and 23 July.
On social media, fans have been sharing their joy at seeing previously unaired clips of Payne, while also admitting that it brought up a range of emotions.
“Snippets of Liam from Building The Band trailer, felt emotional watching it. Seeing Liam all beautiful and happy made me forget the last nine months,” one fan wrote on X/Twitter. “He would have been so happy to share these moments with us,” said another.
“Heartbreaking to see Liam Payne in this posted. It’s going to be his final project forever. I’m going to be crying my eyes out watching this show,” another fan said.
Payne died in October after falling from a third-floor hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The singer shot to fame when One Direction appeared on The X Factor and went on to achieve staggering international success alongside bandmates Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson.
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