One Direction stars squirm during latest Zayn Malik interrogation

One Direction made their appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show one of their most awkward on Wednesday (18Nov15) when they squirmed while discussing former bandmate Zayn Malik's exit.

The singer quit the band in March (15) during One Direction's tour of Asia, and DeGeneres was keen to find out if Harry Styles and company were still in touch with him.

As Louis Tomlinson and Liam Payne attempted to answer her questions with awkward responses - Payne revealing he has spoken to his ex-bandmate "a couple of times" since he left - Styles started giggling, prompting the host to ask what was so funny.

The singer said, "You can cut the tension in here... Let's make some jokes!"

Ellen responded, "They're just questions... I didn't want it to be tense. I'm sorry!"

Styles then quickly changed the subject, explaining he was tense because he was expecting the host to pull a prank on him.

DeGeneres has a penchant for scaring guests on her show by having crew members jump out of props and creep up behind them.