Director Sam Mendes has confirmed that the new James Bond theme has now been recorded.

Sam Smith is still the bookies' favourite for the gig, despite having distanced himself from the role recently.

The next Bond film Spectre will be unveiled on October 26 and Mendes told the BBC that the identity of the singer will be revealed soon.

He said: "I can say that the song's been recorded and it's fantastic and I'm very excited about it.

"You won't have to wait long."

Bookmaker William Hill recently closed betting on Sam Smith after receiving a number of big-money punts.

The singer batted away the speculation during a recent Capital FM interview, suggesting that Ellie Goulding might be doing it instead.

Follow us: @Pressparty on Twitter / Pressparty on Facebook.

Watch Sam Smith in action below: