Dannii Minogue breaks down in tears over close friend Shane Warne's death

DANNII Minogue has broken down in tears over the death of her close friend Shane Warne - saying she "misses him so much".

The singing sensation talked about the close friendship she shared with the late cricketer on Australia's Channel Seven tribute show today.

Dannii, 50, opened up about the close relationship she shared with cricket player Shane, who passed away earlier this month.

The star was found unresponsive at a villa in Thailand on March 4, before being pronounced dead at the age of 52.

Today, the Australian broadcaster paid tribute to the cricketer with anecdotes and messages from a number of his friends.

"Shane, I miss you so much. Can't believe you're not here. Mr Sunshine,!" Dannii told the cameras, getting emotional and trying to hold back tears.

Speaking about Shane's charitable side, the star went on to gush over the bowler's love of giving to others, calling him "joyful".

"All these little stories we have... somebody would say, 'My friend's going through a hard time and he's a Warnie fan'," Dannii recalled.

"And he [Shane] would say, 'Just ring him now. Get him on the phone'.

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"He was such an energy in the room. He was always lovely to my whole family. He knew that I didn't have a clue about cricket, but he liked that."

She went on: "To me, he was just Shane. I can still hear him say, "Hey Disco, how are you?"'

Shane was tragically found dead in his villa in Koh Samui on Friday, March 4, while he was holidaying with three friends.

His friends had spent 20 minutes trying to revive him after they were unable to bring him around after he fell unconscious.

Shane was rushed to hospital but was pronounced dead shortly after.

His manager James Erskine released a statement to confirm the traffic news in the early hours of March 5.