Wanted: a new Simpsons character "worth their d'oh" alongside Chris Martin

If you haven't already heard on the messageboard, the makers of The Simpsons have announced they're "tired and, frankly, too rich to care any more" about creating new characters for the award-winning cartoon. So they've asked their fans to do it for them.

The television show's website - thesimpsons.com - is giving viewers one week to come up with a name, catchphrase and description of a new character to be written into an episode to air in January 2010.

Coldplay's Chris Martin will feature in the same episode, in which Homer will disappoint his wife Marge by arriving late to a wedding after stopping to buy a lottery ticket. Executive producer Al Jean told the BBC the character had the potential to be written into further episodes. The competition winner, to be announced mid-November, will travel to Los Angeles to work with producers and the animation director. [thanks mimixxx]

''You'll have the satisfaction of creating a character seen by millions. And we'll have the satisfaction of not having to do our jobs,'' the website reads. Jean said submissions should be ''pithy and funny'' with a ''typical Simpsons overbite''.

As recently announced online Coldplay has been announced as special guests on the 20th anniversary episode of The Simpsons. According to Coldplay.com, the episode will air on January 14th, 2010. An earlier report by RollingStone.com suggested that in the episode, Homer Simpson hires the band to play privately for him and Bart after he wins the lottery -- with the band having to stop their performance while Bart goes to the bathroom.

Previous musical acts that have made guest appearances on the long-running series include U2, three of the Beatles, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Aerosmith, the White Stripes, the Smashing Pumpkins, Blink-182, the Who and the late Michael Jackson, while Green Day was heavily featured in the Simpsons movie a few years back.

Coldplay as they will appear in the Simpsons episode, to air in January 2010

Meanwhile, Cartoon character Homer Simpson will soon be turned to an icon inspiring the British to fight obesity. The Department of Health has decided to promote the beer-loving, doughnut-munching idler as the new face of healthy eating. The 'DoH' will be sponsoring episodes of the hit show to make Brits improve their diet. The central characters in the show-Homer, Bart, Marge and the rest of the cartoon family-will apparently be seen sitting on the sofa with junk food placed in front of them, at the start of each episode. Next, the food vanishes and gets replaced by nutritious fruit and vegetables.

The Government’s Change4Life health campaign has invested 640,000 pounds for the ads to be telecast on Channel 4 till Christmas. "They provide a popular and engaging way to get the message to real-life families," the Sun quoted Public Health Minister Gillian Merron as saying. "It is good that health is associated with something irreverent and fun instead of po-faced and worthy,” said Professor Gerard Hastings, director of the Institute for Social Marketing at Stirling University. It’s not what is said but who says it that matters and the fact that Homer and Bart Simpson are implicitly endorsing this message is really important. We all have a bit of the beer and doughnuts persona in us and, within reason, that’s fine. It’s about balance and moderation,” Hastings added.