More than 350 guest stars have visited Springfield since Series One aired in 1990, including Jerry Springer, Dolly Parton, Britney Spears, Michael Moore, Natalie Portman, Lenny Kravitz and U2.

British cameos have included Monty Python Eric Idle, Star Trek star Patrick Stewart, Beatles George Harrison and Ringo Star, Stones Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, Ricky Gervais, Stephen Hawking and Tony Blair.

One of the funniest Simpsons cameos didn't actually appear on the sitcom, but came when Homer, Lisa and Marge judged television's Simon Cowell in a special snippet shown on American Idol, with Homer urging Mr Nasty to "hurry it up, we've got 10,000 other losers to listen to," before urging him to "lose the accent Mary Poppins, this is AMERICAN Idol".

Anyway, on with the show...

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The 33 funniest Simpsons cameos (in order of appearance)

Our selection is made up of one-off cameos, not including semi-regular guest stars such as Kelsey Grammer, Phil Hartman, Marcia Wallace and Joe Mantegna, or even occasional guest appearances by Stephen Hawking, Glenn Close, Eric Idle and James Earl Jones (who have all appeared in three episodes).

Agree or disagree? Think we've missed a classic? To be in with a chance of winning tell us your favourite at the foot of this article.

Click each cameo to watch a YouTube clip.

Dustin Hoffman as Mr. Bergstrom in Lisa's Substitute, where Lisa takes a friendly yet romantic liking to Hoffman's substitute teacher (credited as Sam Etic).

Michael Jackson as Leon Kompowsky in Stark Raving Dad, although Jackson (credited as John Jay Smith) provided his own voice for the dialogue, impersonator Kipp Lennon did the singing.

Aerosmith as Themselves in Flaming Moe's, where Aerosmith and bar owner Moe perform Walk This Way, the rock band's 1986 hit single they recorded with Run DMC.

Spinal Tap as Spinal Tap in The Otto Show, where a terrible onstage performance leads to a riot, before the band are killed in a tour bus accident, caused by Otto's erratic driving.

Tom Jones as Himself in Marge Gets a Job , where Mr. Burns attempts to seduce Marge with the help of the kidnapped singer, after Marge states the Welshman is her favourite.

Barry White and Red Hot Chili Peppers as Themselves in Krusty Gets Kancelled, where Bart and Lisa recruite a bevvy of major celebrities in an effort to save their favourite TV show.

The Ramones as Themselves in Rosebud, where in less than a minute on screen the band deliver several superb jokes, and perform Happy Birthday for Mr. Burns (who mistakes them for the Stones).

Cheers stars Ted Danson, Woody Harrelson and Rhea Perlman in Fear of Flying, where the Cheers regulars' drunken antics scare off Homer, who has been barred from Moe's for life.

Mel Brooks as Himself and Susan Sarandon as the Ballet Teacher in "Homer vs. Patty & Selma"

Paul and Linda McCartney as Themselves in Lisa the Vegetarian, where the Beatle and his wife help establish Lisa's vegetarianism. McCartney stipulated that Lisa's conversion be permanent.

Smashing Pumpkins and Cypress Hill as Themselves in Homerpalooza, where Homer's to become cool again leads him to join the music festival as a carnival freak.

Johnny Cash as the Coyote in El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer (The Mysterious Voyage of Homer), where a hallucinating Homer is lead by his spirit guide, a coyote voiced by the singer.

Steve Martin as Ray Patterson and U2 as Themselves in Trash of the Titans, where Martin plays the Sanitation Commissioner and Homer is beaten up after interrupting a U2 concert (the band had requested a guest appearance).

Mark Hamill as Himself and Leavalle in Mayored to the Mob, where he dresses as Luke Skywalker to sing Luke be a Jedi to the tune of Guys and Dolls' Luck be a Lady.

Cyndi Lauper as Herself in Wild Barts Can't Be Broken, where she sings The Star Spangled Banner to the tune of her 1984 hit Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.

Elton John as Himself in I'm with Cupid, where Homer sees Elton at the airport and mistakenly thinks he has come to Springfield to perform a concert to save Apu and Manjula's marriage (he does).

Mel Gibson as Himself in Beyond Blunderdome, where Homer helps him rework his movie so that his character goes crazy and kills every member of Congress and the President.

The Who as Themselves in A Tale of Two Springfields, where the band are caught in the middle of an Olde v New Springfield battle. Pete Townshend declined to supply his voice and had is brother Paul substitute for him

Andre Agassi as Himself in Tennis the Menace, where a tennis court is built at the Springfield Retirement Castle, and stars such as Pete Sampras and the Williams' sisters partner the family.

R.E.M. as Themselves in Homer the Moe, where the band play at Homer's new garage bar, before returning to Moe's for a Thanksgiving meal of turkey, made "entirely of tofu and gluten.”

Richard Gere as Himself in She of Little Faith, where Lisa hears about the virtues of Buddhism after meeting the Hollywood actor, who tells her she can celebrate Christmas while being a Buddhist.

Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Elvis Costello and Lenny Kravitz as Themselves in How I Spent My Strummer Vacation, where the family takes Homer to a Rock N' Roll Fantasy Camp, run by the Rolling Stones.

Tony Hawk as Himself in Barting Over, where the skate legend gives Homer a modified skateboard, which does all the stuntwork, before being showed up in battle on the half pipe.

Tony Blair as Himself in The Regina Monologues, the first episode in which the entire family goes to Europe, and the first, and only time a serving prime minister provided their own voice.

Frank Gehry as Himself in The Seven-Beer Snitch, where Marge suggests to the Springfield Cultural Advisory Board that architect Frank Gehry design and build a new cultural centre for Springfield.

Ricky Gervais appeared as Charles and wrote Homer Simpson, This is Your Wife, the first Simpsons guest star to ever be credited with writing an episode. Episode was the highest rated ever in the UK, with 2.3 million viewers.

Metallica as Themselves in The Mook, the Chef, the Wife and Her Homer, when Bart hijacks the band and takes them to school, after their tour bus breaks down.

The White Stripes as Themselves in Jazzy and the Pussycats, where the band's sequence resembles their video for The Hardest Button to Button, including Jack and Meg's outfits.

Ronaldo as Himself in Marge Gamer, where the Brazil striker points out to referee Homer that Lisa is a "flopper". Homer gives her a yellow followed by a red for bad sportsmanship when she rips up the yellow.

Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer in 24 Minutes, where Bart's phone call is accidentally crossed with a call from Jack Bauer. Bart asks who is this, and Jack responds "I'm Jack Bauer. Who the hell are you?"

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