Scores of pre-teenage girls are facing the prospect of having to go through a very difficult time in their lives, after which they will never be the same. Zayn Malik has left One Direction’s tour having been signed off with stress.

This may seem fairly innocuous in that many people go on the sick with stress everyday but this is hugely significant in that it could be signalling the end of One Direction and what will girls do without their bedroom wall fodder?

This may be jumping the gun ever so slightly. The rest of the band is continuing with their current tour which to a casual observer such as myself seems to have been going on forever. I’m not sure whether this is the start of a new tour or they just never stopped touring but it’s not difficult to tell why Malik has become so stressed.

Rumours concerning Malik, as well as most of the other boys have been rife but in many ways, that is all part of the boyband culture and what makes them so appealing to their army of fans.

Members of boybands live their lives perpetually on a stage. They play out a role that girls find easy to identify with such as the shy one or the bad boy and become little more than a caricature of themselves. It’s happened before with other bands, a notable example being Take That. Back in the day, they were at the top of the game and everyone had their favourite that they identified with such as Gary Barlow or Mark Owen or the one with dreadlocks... Girls loved Robbie Williams, however. He embodied the cheeky rebel that everyone loved and when he left the band, there was a gaping hole left that eventually led to the disbandment of the group.

It seems as though similar cracks might be beginning to form in the One Direction camp. At the moment, nothing is confirmed apart from the fact that Malik is stressed and is therefore taking a break but he is on the boyband ride now and there will be little respite for him until he decides to jump off for good. The band may continue without him for now, until (if) he returns but his presence will be sorely missed and the magic will begin to wane for fans.

On the bright side, if the band does split up, it is likely that we would need an emotional support helpline for the millions of heartbroken fans, like the one that was set up for distraught Take That fans, and that will keep the country in employment for the next decade.

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