Harry Styles 'tried to seduce Blue Peter star, 41, when he was just 16'

Harry Styles 'tried to seduce Blue Peter star, 41, when he was just 16'

• Yvette Fielding claims Styles broke her son's heart after he became famous
  
• The presenter says the singer sent her messages in a Chinese restaurant
• They met when Harry was just 11 and living in Cheshire with his mother
  

By Simon Cable

PUBLISHED: 18:08 EST, 11 March 2013 | UPDATED: 07:17 EST, 12 March 2013

Memories: Yvette Fielding says Harry Styles propositioned her with a string of 'disgusting texts'

Women old enough to be his mother have a certain appeal for Harry Styles.

And it seems that even in his school days, the young popstar-to-be was making an impression as a Romeo.

Yvette Fielding, the former Blue Peter host, has told how Harry, a childhood friend of her son’s, propositioned her with a string of ‘disgusting’ text messages at 16.

The 44-year-old TV presenter also claimed Styles, 19, had broken her son’s heart by abandoning their friendship when he found fame with One Direction on The X Factor.

Miss Fielding said she and her husband had taken Harry and his mother Anne Cox out to dinner at a Chinese restaurant when the cheeky teenager began sending her messages from across the table.

‘The last time I saw him we went for a Chinese â€" his mum and her partner, Robin, plus me and my husband, Karl.

'Harry was sending me disgusting texts from across the table. I can’t even repeat the words, they were so rude!’

She refused to reveal what the messages said, but told Woman magazine: ‘He’s a Romeo, he’s very romantic.

'When there’s a love interest, Harry will go all out to get the girl. He’s totally obsessed. I think that’s what Simon Cowell saw in him, the cheeky chappie charm.’

Miss Fielding became the youngest presenter in Blue Peter’s history when she landed the job in June 1987, three months before her 19th birthday.

She hosted the show for five years until 1992. She has since gone on to present programmes investigating the paranormal on Living TV and ITV2.

She met Harry when he was 11 and living with his mother in their hometown of Holmes Chapel in Cheshire.

He became best friends with her son William, starting a band together called White Eskimo.

Harry Styles (left) was friends with Yvette Fielding's son; the presenter pictured in her Blue Peter days (right)

‘The first time I met Harry, he did a sweeping bow and got down on his knees on the road,’ she said.

‘I thought, “what a joker, we’ll get on well”. When he came for tea, he loved pizza and chips and always put on these stupid voices.

‘He called me his second mum and he and Will lived in each other’s pockets, dressing and talking the same. In the car I’d put Elvis or Little Richard on and we’d sing along.

‘Harry confessed that he wanted to be a singer, but thought he couldn’t make it. I told him to follow his dream.’

After finishing as runners up on ITV’s The X Factor in 2010, One Direction became a global success, with Styles said to have earned an estimated £20million in less than three years.

He has dated presenter Caroline Flack, 14 years his senior, and 32-year-old radio DJ Lucy Horobin. Miss Fielding said Harry’s newfound wealth must have had an effect on the entire family.

Read the full story in Woman magazine, out now

‘Anne’s life has changed dramatically, it’s like she’s won the lottery.’ she said.

‘One minute she was worrying about a kitchen extension, the next minute her son bought her a gated mansion. The kind that only footballers can afford!'

But their sons’ friendship which lasted from the ages of 11 and 17 was also altered by Harry’s fame.

‘Will texted Harry to see if he was coming home,’ Miss Fielding recalled. ‘They’d arrange to meet up but then Harry never showed. There were tears from Will and he said, “I’ve lost my brother, it’s like he’s dead”.

‘William kept trying and was devastated, but had to learn to let go, because Harry was just gone. Harry broke Will’s heart. 

‘But I’m gobsmacked at how understanding Will’s been. A lot of lads would be bitter but he just says, “I hope somebody is looking out for Harry,” and I th ink that’s the mark of a true friend. I’ve helped Will through the whole thing with lots of hugs.’ 

Last night a spokesman for Styles denied he had ever sent the text messages. He said: ‘Harry has never sent any rude or inappropriate texts to Yvette Fielding.’