One Direction star Louis Tomlinson had a hard time at the 2016 BRIT Awards because he was away from his newborn son.

The pop star become a father for the first time on 21 January (16) and has since been looking after his son Freddie Reign in Los Angeles, where Freddie's mother - Louis' ex Briana Jungwirth - lives.

Louis returned to his native country for the first time since the birth to attend the 2016 BRIT Awards in London with his bandmate Liam Payne on Wednesday night (24Feb16) and he admitted being away from Freddie was challenging.

When interviewed during a BRITs afterparty special on ITV2, he said, "(Fatherhood) is good. It's intense. It's really exciting... This is my first time away from Freddie so it's tough."

Louis thanked the One Direction fans as he accepted the band's British Artist Video for the Year with Liam, saying, 'It really is times like these that prove to us we have the best fans in the world. This award is for you."

Their bandmates Harry Styles and Niall Horan did not attend, but they also sent thanks to fans via social media for voting for Drag Me Down.

Before the show, Louis told Britain's The Sun newspaper he would love to take a place on The X Factor judging panel after British DJ Nick Grimshaw announced he was stepping down after only one series.

The pop star, who has previously expressed interest in being a judge, said, "Of course, it's really exciting... We've had no official conversation yet. But yeah, I mean, why wouldn't I?"

According to the report, Louis "relentlessly nagged" X Factor boss Simon Cowell about having more involvement in the show after he helped Simon pick contestants during the judges' houses round of the competition last year (15).

Hosts Olly Murs and Caroline Flack have also quit The X Factor after one year.