Hanks and Ford to give out Oscars

Tom Hanks won Oscars for Philadelphia and Forrest Gump

Actors Tom Hanks, Harrison Ford and Nicole Kidman have been confirmed as stars who will be handing out Oscars in Los Angeles later this month.

Academy Award organisers also said last year's best actor and actress winners, Forest Whitaker and Dame Helen Mirren, will present awards on 24 February.

The ceremony will include performances from Amy Adams and Jon McLaughlin, both nominated for songs from Enchanted.

The Oscars will be hosted by TV presenter and comedian Jon Stewart.

This year's ceremony was in doubt because of the Hollywood writers' strike.

It would have meant most actors would have refused to cross the picket line.

'Show A'

The Golden Globes suffered such a fate and a replacement press conference attracted a quarter of the normal TV audience in the US.

Jon Stewart will present the Oscars for the second time

But Sid Ganis, president of the Academy, said he was pleased to be hosting a traditional ceremony.

"We are now full steam ahead on what has come to be known as 'show A'," he added.

Other actors who will hand out the statuettes include James McAvoy, George Clooney, Cate Blanchett and Renee Zellweger.

The show's producer, Gil Cates, confirmed the strike had delayed them, saying: "We are behind in the writing, but we'll catch up.

"It'll be there. You'll hear words. I promise."