Filming on the new series of Britain's Got Talent is to begin next week, ending speculation that the show could be forced off air for another year.

Due to coronavirus, the talent show was dropped from the ITV schedules in 2021 - and in the run-up to Christmas there had also been doubts over this year's series amid the spread of the omicron wave of the disease.

Omicron has proved milder than previous iterations of coronavirus, however, and with Prime Minister Boris Johnson unlikely to introduce new restrictions in the near future, Media Mole can confirm that BGT filming is going ahead as planned.

The auditions phase of the new series will be recorded over a shorter timeframe than usual in order to get the filming in the bag and ensure that the show can make it to air in the spring.

In total 10 audition sessions will be filmed over the space of six days, starting next Sunday, January 16 and wrapping the following Friday.

The show will be filmed at the London Palladium in Soho in front of a live audience, although attendees will be required to wear masks and the venue's 2,000-seater capacity will be reduced significantly.

Ant and Dec will host the new series, while Simon Cowell returns as head judge alongside David Walliams, Amanda Holden and Alesha Dixon.