Singer Liam Payne says fame "nearly killed" him, adding that he feels 'quite lucky' to be alive.

The former One Direction singer opened up about the darker side of fame during a chat in "Ant Middleton And Liam Payne: Straight Talking", reports www.thesun.co.uk..

Payne propelled to fame at aged 16 with One Direction.

"For some certain circumstances I'm quite lucky to be here still. There are times when that level of loneliness and people getting into you every day, it's like, ‘When will this end?' That's almost nearly killed me a couple of times," he said.

Asked if Payne had wanted to act on it, the singer replied: "Yeah, when I've been in a bad place. It's one hundred per cent, you know. There's no point denying it — it's definitely been on the menu a couple of times in my life."

Since reaching global stardom with One Direction members Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik, he has had a successful solo career and become a father to son Bear with his former girlfriend Cheryl Tweedy.

During the show, Payne said talking to family and friends helped pull him back from the brink.

"There's only one thing you control within that situation and that is you. Just do today. Get on with that bit and then there'll be another hurdle in a few months, a few weeks or maybe even the next day," he said.