Zayn Malik’s departure from One Direction in March of last year might have come as a shock to the group’s legion of fans, but the former boyband member has admitted he always wanted to leave. Speaking on Zane Lowe’s Beats 1 radio show, Malik admitted he was never comfortable in the boyband and never agreed with their musical direction.

Zayn MalikZayn Malik says he always wanted to leave One Direction.

"I just gave it a go because it was there at the time,” Malik told Lowe (via The Sun). "I think I kinda always wanted to go. From the first year, I never really wanted to be there in the band.”

"When I realised the direction that we were going in, mind the pun, with the music, I instantly realised it wasn't for me. How do you write a song from five people's perspective? I realised I couldn’t put any input in. I couldn’t give my opinion on this or that because it didn’t fit the grain of what we were or what we represented.”

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Malik also said that his One Direction bandmates knew his exit was coming: “I think the boys kind of knew - in terms of the music - that wasn’t my cup of tea,” he added. Last week Malik announced that his first solo single, 'Pillowtalk', would be released on January 29th.

Tomorrow night (Friday 29th) Malik was due to give his first solo interview, on ‘The Graham Norton Show’. However the 23-year-old has pulled out due to ‘scheduling issues.’ A source told The Sun, “"This is a very last-minute decision from Zayn and his team.”

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"They have put it down to scheduling issues but this is an appearance that has been in the diary for a while now. But it will spark talk of something being wrong behind the scenes. This appearance is a big deal to both Zayn and his fans.”

“Graham and his producers are hoping they can get him back on in the future - but this being the week of his big solo career launch feels like the best time,” the source added. "There's still a chance he could make it happen - but the show are now making alternative plans."