Britain's Got Talent will reportedly be back on the air in September with pre-recorded semi-finals.

The show went off the air at the end of May when the last of the audition episodes aired, with the coronavirus pandemic forcing a delay to the usual week of live semi-finals and the final.

According to The Mirror, ITV has now decided to stage the semi-finals over consecutive Saturdays starting in September in the slot that would normally be occupied by The X Factor, which had already been axed for this year even before the outbreak of COVID-19.

"It's a natural replacement for The X Factor," a source told the newspaper. "Even if a full audience isn't possible, it's looking like we may be able to get a smaller one, with gaps between the groups, and enhance the sound afterwards.

"We always say that the audience is like a fifth judge so that's been a great relief."

The report adds that acts that live abroad, such as Indian dance group X1X Crew, will be permitted to perform on home turf while some others may be "kept away" from filming for their own safety.

ITV still intends to air the finale as a live episode at some point in October.