Simon Cowell was ''about to jump off a cliff'' when he learnt Zayn Malik was quitting One Direction.

The 55-year-old music mogul has revealed he initially tried to dissuade Zayn, 22, from walking away from the boy band, but ultimately decided it was best to allow the ''stressed'' singer to leave for his own good.

Simon admitted: ''I was just about to jump off a cliff.

''I was trying to say to him [Zayn] he should stay around a bit longer. But something inside him said he'd had enough.

''I saw him in person as well - but once someone has made their mind up they are going to go.

''At the same time I don't want to push him too much because he's 22 and I could see he was a bit stressed and needed some time off.''

Thereafter, Simon said his priority was to ensure that the other members of the group - Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne and Niall Horan - weren't unnerved by losing one of their band members.

He told The Late Late Show with James Corden: ''I dealt with it then I made sure the guys were OK - because they were shocked as well.

''So I had to respect his decision. For the boys it was interesting because they were in the middle of these live shows at the time.

''Then I watched the show back and they were incredible. I have a feeling they are going to deliver the best record they have ever made.''