'Mr Burns': Lack of interference key to Simpsons success

The Simpsons star Harry Shearer insists the animated show is such a big hit because the company behind it is not allowed to interfere with the scripts.

The actor, who voices Mr Burns on the show among others, is delighted Fox, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch, has no say in the making of the show as he believes the series would never work otherwise.

He says: "Rupert can't get involved. We had it written into our script that Fox weren't allowed to meddle with our scripts.

"In fact, I'm pretty sure the reason we've been so successful is because no one's been able to interfere."