Brit Awards 2016: Ant and Dec 'thrilled' to host music ceremony for second year

TV presenting duo Ant and Dec have confirmed they will be hosting the Brit Awards for their second year in 2016. The forthcoming awards ceremony will take place on 24 February 2016 at the O2 Arena in London with viewers at home able to watch the live broadcast on ITV.

The Britain's Got Talent hosts, who replaced comedian James Corden for the 2015 awards ceremony, admitted they did not wish to front the show for another year but are pleased to return. The presenters, full names Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, said in a statement: "We're really excited to be invited back to host The BRIT Awards 2016.

"In all honesty we only intended to do it for one year but had such a good time we are thrilled to be doing it again. Both of us are looking forward to what will be an incredible night, and we can't wait to celebrate the achievements of British music once again."

Brit Awards Chairman Max Lousada added: "We're delighted to welcome Ant and Dec back to host the BRITs next year. They played a huge role in the success of this year's event and we're all looking forward to another great show in 2016."

Watch Ant and Dec attempt to take a selfie with Kim Kardashian at the Brit Awards 2015:

The 2015 awards, which were held on 25 February, proved to be a ratings hit after attracting 5.76 million viewers - a one million increase over the previous year. The show also left its biggest digital footprint to date, with more than 7.8 million tweets about the ceremony sent globally during the night – perhaps helped by Ant and Dec attempting to take a selfie with reality star Kim Kardashian on stage, and also Madonna's notorious tumble down the stairs.

Clips of the performances were shared on YouTube and have so far garnered more than 24 million views, while music sales of artists who were either nominated, performers, or winners were given a huge boost. Among the big winners of the night were Sam Smith who won both the British breakthrough act and global success award, Paloma Faith who was crowned British female solo artist, and Ed Sheeran who walked away with the coveted album of the year award.

Nominees, performers, and presenters are expected to be announced in the coming months.