Niall Horan to write and record with ex Ellie Goulding

One Direction star Niall Horan will be hitting the studio with former flame Ellie Goulding as soon as his One Direction hiatus begins.

The Irish singer will kickstart 2016 with the singer he briefly dated.

The former couple was all smiles when Niall posed for photos with Ellie at a Jingle Ball concert last week (ends04Dec15), and now she has opened up about her duet plans with her ex.

Speaking at the BBC Music Awards on Thursday night (10Dec15), she said, "He's a good friend of mine. It goes without saying that writing a song with someone you are friends with and someone you get on with, you can't really replace that with anything.

"I write the best songs with someone I feel truly comfortable with. So, definitely I think it will be a laugh."

Niall and his bandmates will continue to promote their new album Made in the A.M. over the holidays before embarking on a break from each other, which Harry Styles recently told British chat show host Alan Carr he expects to last for about 18 months.