David Beckham was denied the chance to get animated for The Simpsons - after TV producers deemed the soccer star wasn't famous enough for American audiences.
The sports ace, who plays for the U.S. club Los Angeles Galaxy, was in talks to appear as a yellow character on the long-running cartoon but executive producer Al Jean eventually snubbed him after deciding the cameo wouldn't work.
Jean explains, "I had to phone David Beckham to tell him sorry. I didn't think he was a big enough star for an American audience. I get a lot of grief about that. Some people got angry about it and told me, 'I bet you would have put (former professional soccer star) George Best on!' But I would have turned him down too."