Danny Bretherton is "taking some time out" from December 10.

The singer is taking a break from the boy band to focus on his mental health and to receive the support he needs, amid criticism he has faced online over allegedlymaking inappropriate comments in the past.

A statement from the band read: "Danny's taking some time out at the moment and we're all respecting that.

"One thing we've always spoken about as a band is the importance of looking after your mental health and getting support when you need it.

"Right now, that's what Danny is focusing on.

"He's our friend and we care about him, so we're supporting him and giving him the space and privacy he needs."

Fans had speculated whether Danny had left the group - who shot to fame on Simon Cowell's Netflix show The Next Act - after he was missing from recent promo pictures featuring bandmates Nicolas Alves, Josh Olliver, Hendrik Christoffersen, Sean Hayden, John Fadare and Cruz Lee-Ojo.

He addressed the speculation, and the criticism he has received, on TikTok.

He said: "Looking back at some of my actions, I understand why this has caused upset - and hurt and for that, I am truly sorry.

"I didn't think enough about how my behaviour might affect other people."

December 10 are due to kick off the European leg of their The Next Step tour later this week but it is unclear if Danny will be joining the band for any of the shows.

Danny recently praised Simon for being a great mentor to the band.

He told ContactMusic.com: "We talk to him a lot. We were all at his house the other day for a barbecue chilling but also talking about the next steps that we're going to go through. We couldn't ask for anyone better to guide use what we're going through at the minute."

Nicholas added: "Obviously with Simon he's had so many years in this industry and he has so much experience so every opportunity we get to spend time with him he's always imparting his wisdom upon us. It's just a really good thing to have him as our mentor we're really lucky to have him by our side."

But the Run My Way hitmakers stressed the music mogul allows them plenty of input into their own music.

Danny said: "He's definitely got a good say, but we're lucky that he's happy for us to give our input a lot of the time. We respect him for doing that."