One Direction star Harry Styles has responded to media speculation about a romance with Xtra Factor presenter Caroline Flack by saying they are "close friends", but did not rule out a future relationship.
During promotional duties in London, the 17-year-old said of internet rumours and criticism of Flack (32): "A lot of people write things on the internet and a lot of the time they don't think about what they are writing or how it's going to affect people.
"It's a shame people say that. We are close friends."
He added: "We are friends. We hang out sometimes but that's about it for now.
"We'll see what happens."
