South Park's Kenny is dead for good

The creators of South Park say Kenny won't return from the grave after finally killing him off for good.

Matt Stone told the Knoxville News that Kenny won't be appearing in the new series of the animated comedy which began airing in the US last month.

The new season has Kenny replaced by a new member of the gang called Butters.

He's a goody two shoes whose parents constantly ground him when he gets into trouble.

Matt Stone said of Kenny's death: "I think a lot of people probably haven't noticed. I couldn't care less. I am so sick of that character.

"Kenny was always a kind of prop anyway. He couldn't say anything so it is really hard to develop a character who could never really talk."

The hooded, mumbling character's brutal death in nearly 80 episodes became a running joke on the show.

His many deaths included having his head bitten off by Ozzy Osbourne and being beaten by a spastic monkey high on sugar.

Each time he died his friends Cartman, Kylie and Stan would cry the familiar catch phrase "Oh My God, they killed Kenny!"

Kenny died a slow painful death from a muscular disease during an episode which aired in the US in December.