Jonathan Ross will mark his return to broadcasting by hosting this year’s Baftas.

The outspoken chatshow host will front the award ceremony next month, a fortnight after the BBC lifts his suspension over the Andrew Sachs lewd phone calls row.

Bafta chairman David Parfitt dismissed fears that Ross would repeat his recent bad behaviour.

Parfitt said that no extra precautions would be put in place and the procedures for writing and filming the night would not change.

Parfitt's only concern over Jonathan Ross hosting the film awards had been that his BBC suspension would be lifted in time. The decision to hire Ross was taken after last year’s awards, he said.

"I think what people don't realise is there are different Jonathans... He loves film and he is really serious about film," Parfitt added.

Ross is, however, planning at least one prank. He has been inviting the public, through social networking website Twitter, to suggest an unlikely word that he can sneak into his Bafta routine.

"Thanks for Bafta suggestions,” he wrote to his followers. “Will whittle them down to a top three then slip one in."

The BBC announced yesterday that their coverage of this year's Baftas - at London's Royal Opera House on February 8 - will be shown consecutively on three separate channels. It will begin with a red carpet report on BBC3 before moving to BBC2 and BBC1 for the awards announcements.

Explore Film

• Film Reviews

• Trailers

• DVD

• London Film Festival

Editor's choice

• The super cool Vampire Weekend
• Streep and Baldwin get complicated
• Guy Ritchie on Sherlock Holmes