Liam Payne has found it ''hard'' not seeing his son during the coronavirus pandemic.

The former One Direction singer has kept in video contact with three-year-old Bear but he and ex-girlfriend Cheryl felt it was best he stay with her throughout the lockdown period, even though Liam is ''dying'' to see his little boy.

He said: ''I've been FaceTiming as much as I can, and it's just great knowing he's so well looked by Cheryl at home. But missing my son has been one of the hardest things that I've had to do so far.

''I'm dying to get back to see him, but obviously, I just think it's so important that we follow the government guidelines at the moment and me and Cheryl are talking all the time.''

The 'Strip That Down' singer admitted he has had some ''bad days'' during this period of isolation but he's doing his best to ''battle through''.

He told the Daily Mirror newspaper: ''The thing that I'm trying to remember in my head is there are going to be bad days. There are going to be some days where you feel a bit down. But as long as you know that, you can kind of battle your way through it a little bit.

''But I think the main thing for me is just making sure I have a routine and setting mini goals and little victories like writing a song or making sure that I've been in touch with a family member that day.

''But I think one of the things we can all do to help each other is just by staying in touch. If you know somebody who's a little bit lonely or is struggling, reach out to them.''

The 26-year-old singer was ''quite miffed'' at having to put plans to perform in Russia on hold due to the global outbreak of the virus but is thankful he was at least in the UK when new restrictions were imposed.

He said: ''I hadn't been there before, even with One Direction, so I was quite miffed about.

''But you have to do what you have to do in this circumstance.

''And I was actually meant to go to America at the time of this, and luckily I'd stayed put for the moment, I didn't want to be stuck away from all my family and everything, which would have been even harder.''