Fifty Shades of Grey receives 18 rating

The film, directed by Sam Taylor Johnson, will be released on 13 February with an 18 rating

Fifty Shades Of Grey will be hitting cinemas in its full glory after censors approved the film without any cuts.

Based on EL James's best-selling so-called "mummy porn" books, it has been given an 18 certificate by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC).

The film, which contains "strong sex and nudity", stars Jamie Dornan as Christian Grey and Dakota Johnson as his lover Anastasia Steele.

Directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson, it is due for release on 13 February.

James's trilogy of Fifty Shades books have reportedly sold more than 100 million copies worldwide and been translated into more than 50 languages.

In the US the film has been given an R rating, meaning those under 17 years old can watch it if accompanied by an adult.

Taylor-Johnson, who has never directed a Hollywood film before, said she consulted a professional dominatrix for research and said she "learned a lot" from her.

The film stars Jamie Dornan as Christian Grey and Dakota Johnson as Anastasia Steele

The film, which opens the day before Valentine's Day, has a dozen sex scenes although Taylor-Johnson said she was determined not to make the whole film about it.

"The sex scenes are pretty intense, so I'm sure people are going to feel aroused - but I've seen them so many times that I tend to forget," she told The Independent.

Some of the BBFC's rulings in the past have been controversial - last year the new Paddington film was given a parental guidance advisory due to scenes showing cross-dressing and a villainous taxidermist.

It initially advised the film featured "dangerous behaviour, mild threat, mild sex references (and) mild bad language".

However after the film's distributor contacted the body, it later changed the description from containing "mild sex references" to containing "innuendo".