Former One Direction member Zayn Malik has revealed he did not want to be in the band from very early on.

Malik spent four years with Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Liam Payne in the band which was put together on ITV's The X Factor.

One Direction originally finished in third place back in 2010, but the band went on to conquer the globe.

In an interview with Zane Lowe on the Beats 1 radio show, due to air on Thursday at 5pm, the 23-year-old said: "I think I kind of always wanted to go.

"I just gave it a go because it was there at the time. I think I kind of always wanted to go. From the first year, I never really wanted to be there in the band," he said.

"When I realised the direction that we were going in, mind the pun, with the music, I instantly realised it wasn't for me. How do you write a song from five people's perspective?

"I realised I couldn't put any input in. I couldn't give my opinion on this or that because it didn't fit the grain of what we were as a band, or what we represented. So, that's when it became frustrating for me."

Malik stated that leaving was not something he "really had to think about" or process.

"I think the boys knew that in terms of the music, it wasn't my cup of tea," he said. "They were aware of that - always. They were trying to facilitate certain things for me, like certain R&B adlibs here and there."

He continued: "When I was leaving the band, they obviously didn't want me to leave. They couldn't talk me out of it at that point. I'd already made up my mind, so I just left."

In addition to reflections about One Direction, Malik will also talk about his forthcoming solo album.

The Bradford-born star pulled out of his first solo TV appearance since his big split from One Direction.

He had been due to pre-record an interview that would air on The Graham Norton Show on Friday, but he cancelled due to "scheduling issues".

The appearance would have coincided with the release of Pillowtalk, his first solo single.

A spokeswoman for Malik said he was tied up in the studio working on his new solo album.