Louis Walsh is “unlikely” to appear on X Factor this Saturday as he is attending Stephen Gately's funeral, his agent said today.

It will mean the 57-year-old will be in Dublin to pay his final respects to the Boyzone star just hours before the show.

Final respects: Louis Walsh

Walsh will crucially not be there to introduce his acts and defend them against criticism from fellow judges.

Producers were meeting today to discuss the format of Sunday's live results show if Walsh cannot appear at all this weekend.

He missed last Sunday's X Factor after being told just before that Gately had been found dead in his apartment in Majorca.

Today Walsh paid a tearful tribute to his friend, saying: “We're all in shock. Nobody can believe it — Boyzone, me, nobody. The boys are devastated. It's like they have lost their very best friend, and me too.

Absent friend: X Factor judges Dannii, Cheryl, and Simon without Louis on Sunday's show

“Stephen was never happier when I met him last Monday. I never saw him in better health or better form. We had a laugh as usual, things were going so well — I still can't believe he's gone.”

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The pop manager's fellow X Factor judge Simon Cowell said: “We all know how close Louis and Stephen were and how much he meant to Louis.

“We will all support Louis in whatever he needs to do and have total respect and understanding of his wishes.”

Today a spokesman for Walsh said a decision has not yet been made on whether he would fly back to London to be on the show on Sunday.

She said: “I spoke to him last night and it is highly unlikely he will appear on Saturday's X Factor as he'll be in Ireland.

“I'm not sure about whether he will be on Sunday's show, it will depend on how he feels.

“But I can tell you, even though it's been a difficult week, he has been in constant touch with his bands.”

Before the date of the funeral was announced, Cowell's sidekick Sinitta said she thought Walsh would be on the show as he did not want to let down his two remaining acts — John And Edward and Miss Frank.

"Very best friend": Walsh paid tribute to Gately

An X Factor spokesman said Walsh had been carrying on as normal as best he could under the circumstances, had chosen songs for his acts and was “very much in the loop” with their progress.

But they added that as the date of the funeral was only announced last night, no decision had yet been made on the format of Saturday's show.

Gately's family last night revealed that the singer's funeral would take place on Saturday at St Laurence O'Toole's Church in Dublin — a few hundred yards from where he grew up.

Meanwhile, a local paper in Majorca today reported that the 33-year-old had taken cannabis on the night he died but made no mention of other drugs in his body.

It said: “An analysis of the singer's urine indicates he had consumed cannabis. The relationship between this and his death will now have to be determined.”

Autopsy reports yesterday confirmed Gately suffered an acute pulmonary oedema — or sudden build-up of fluid in the lungs — thought to have been caused by a heart attack.