He was the chattiest member of One Direction when I interviewed the fresh-faced pop stars of the newly formed boyband in 2011.
Then, Zayn Malik struck me as happy and outstandingly polite. A few months later, he approached me at the Brit Awards to say he remembered the red blouse I had been wearing during the interview and how much he had enjoyed our conversation.
His words stuck with me: it was a moment of true kindness, rare among global heart-throbs.
