A One Direction legend has died after a battle with cancer.
One Direction’s adored choreographer, Paul Roberts, has died at the age of 52.
He has been described as ‘one of the kindest and most beautiful souls,’ having worked with stars across the world, including Steps, Spice Girls, Harry Styles, and more.
Roberts was most well-known for working with the famous boyband in One Direction: This Is Us, their documentary concert film which was released in 2013.
He also worked with the stars on their ‘Best Song Ever’ music video, which includes iconic choreography adored by fans of the five-piece, which became a four in 2015 when Zayn Malik left the group.
Friends and family released a statement in the wake of his death, which read: “Yesterday evening, after a courageous battle with cancer, Paul passed away gently at home, surrounded by his family.
“His departure, much like his life, was filled with grace.”
Tributes to the star poured in from celebrities and fans alike.
Popstar Sam Smith wrote: “This is heartbreaking.
“My thoughts and heart is with all of Paul’s family and friends at this hard time.
“Paul was a light in this world. I’ll never forget his kindness and his sparkle. His magic will never leave the people he loved.”
Singer Sophie Ellis Bextor added: “That is so sad. Paul was so special.
“So talented, yes, but also warm and sweet and thoughtful and fun.
“I’m so sorry to hear he’s not here any more.”
More recently, he worked with Styles on his ‘Treat People With Kindness’ music video, which landed him and rest of the team a VMA for Best Choreography in 2021.
At the time, Roberts wrote: “Wow, huge news to wake up too.
“I can’t believe we’ve won a Moon Man @vmas.
“You really loved our dance! Thank you so much for all the messages – I will get around to replying, probably after a margarita or two. We must celebrate, I’m all giddy. For the love of dance.”
Speaking about working with the famous band, in an interview with the BBC in 2021, he said: “It was always really interesting working with One Direction.
“I knew very early on that there was a magic about them and I could see they had other skill-sets aside from being this very good-looking five-piece, and then four-piece, band.
“In personal moments you got to see them flourish.
“They’d mess around doing silly dance moves but I’d think, ‘actually if you wanted to dance really well you sure as hell could do it.’”
