Sir Elton John has reportedly been paid £5 million to appear in this year's John Lewis Christmas advert.

Sources close to the production told The Mail on Sunday that Elton's fee makes up half of the advert's budget (£10 million).

The report claims that the singer's track "Your Song" will soundtrack the advert while Elton himself will appear onscreen playing the piano.

A source close to the set allegedly told the paper that the advert will chart the course of Elton's life.

"It’s a tear-jerker but also very sweet, and follows Elton from a child, through his teenage years, into how he is today," they told the publication.

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"It is all very, very charming and the exciting crescendo at the end will be Elton playing his famous piano."

They added: "John Lewis wanted to win the battle of the Christmas adverts this year and it has cost them a significant sum to do it, but they think having Elton on board will guarantee its popularity and blow Marks & Spencer out of the water."

Filming is said to have taken place over four days at Pinewood Studios, Buckinghamshire.

Ellie Goulding's cover version of 'Your Song' was previously used on the 2010 John Lewis advert, the song managing to reach number two in the charts.

A spokesperson for John Lewis said of the report: "We are lucky enough to enjoy lots of speculation around our TV ads, much of which is wildly inaccurate, and our one rule is to never comment on any aspect simply because we want to keep the magic."

The department store often employs lesser known artists to perform covers of popular songs. These have previously included Gabrielle Aplin, Lily Allen, Tom Odell, Aurora, Vaults, Elbow, and Slow Moving Millie.

Elton began his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour yesterday (8 September) and recently announced a stretch of UK dates.

Representatives for Elton have been contacted by The Independent.