'I wanted to throw the towel in' Louis Tomlinson gives first interview since mum's death
LOUIS TOMLINSON has kept fairly quiet since his mother Johannah Deakin tragically passed away at the age of 43 last month, but he's now spoken out to say that there was a time when he thought about "throwing the towel in".
Louis pays tribute to mum with solo X Factor performance
The 25-year-old - who previously took to Twitter to thank fans for their support during the terrible time - gave his first interview since Johannah passed away after a battle with leukaemia.
Speaking to SiriusXM, Louis said: "It’s not something that I feel 100 per cent comfortable talking too much about but just quickly, when I first found out the news I kind of did want to throw the towel in.
"But it was my mum who said to me that I’ve just got to keep going, telling me very sternly that she wanted me to. So I’m not doing it for her but…
"It was tough, but I felt like it was nice for me to almost have a little send off for her."
Louis Tomlinson's mother Johannah Deakin passed away last month
Louis told SiriusXM he 'wanted to throw in the towel'
Louis' mother Johannah died at the age of 43
Celebrities pay tribute to Louis Tomlinson's mum
When I first found out the news I kind of did want to throw the towel in.
Johannah, who Louis once described as his "best friend", had been suffering from an aggressive form of leukaemia since May.
She was initially cared for at University College London but was moved to the Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield for the last few weeks of her life.
The family, who hail from nearby Doncaster in South Yorkshire, said in a statement at the time that it was "with immeasurable sadness" that they had "said goodbye to Johannah in the early hours of Wednesday".
Louis previously took to Twitter to thank fans for their support
They wrote: "Earlier this year Johannah was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of leukaemia that required immediate and continuous treatment.
"We respectfully request that the family are given time and space to grieve in private."
Louis - who rocketed to fame when he joined One Direction on the X Factor back in 2010 - was the eldest of Johannah's children.
She was also the mother of Lottie, 18, Felicite, 16, two sets of twins, Phoebe and Daisy, 12, and two-year-olds Ernest and Doris.