The Simpsons creator Matt Groening is desperate to end the hit TV show because he's running out of new ideas for the animated family.

The cartoon is about to start its 16th series in the US but Groening insists he will only do three more series after that, and will officially finish in 2008 with 365 episodes, to beat America's longest-running programme Gunsmoke, which ran for 20 series.

The 50-year-old animator explains: "The Simpsons' success has been unbelievable. But the show gets harder and harder every year because we are trying to keep surprising the audience - and trying to surprise ourselves.

"I'd love to get to 365 episodes, so there's one for every day of the year with no repeats."