Boyzone manager Louis Walsh says he has been left “completely broken” by the death of Stephen Gately.

Walsh described the singer as his “best friend” and said the pair had been keeping regular contact over recent weeks.

“I wanted him to do Celebrity Big Brother. He said he’d think about it but he didn’t want to do it,” Walsh told the Daily Mirror.

“He wanted to be in the musical Jersey Boys. He told me, ‘That’s all I want.’”

Gately was found dead in his apartment in Majorca last Saturday. A post-mortem found the star suffered a pulmonary oedema.

Walsh pulled out of his role as a judge on The X Factor on Sunday following the news of Gately's death.

He said: “It’s going to really hit me at the funeral. What am I going to do? Will I be able to do X Factor? I don’t want to let down my acts.”

Walsh masterminded Boyzone's initial career and played a central role in their recent comeback.

Meanwhile, Gately's body has been released by Spanish authorities and is expected to be returned home to Dublin the next 48 hours.

It is understood a funeral is set to take place next week.

Stephen Gately - RIP