Iconic duo Bert and Ernie from Sesame Street are a gay couple, a former writer for the show has confirmed.

Since the show first aired in 1969, the fuzzy Muppets have amused viewers with their relationship - which includes bickering, and lots of laughter.

Now, in an interview with Queerty, Sesame Street writer Mark Saltzman revealed the best friends are also a couple.

According to Saltzman, who joined the show as a writer in 1984, he always wrote the pair as lovers.

“And I always felt that without a huge agenda, when I was writing Bert and Ernie, they were,” he said in response to a question about the duo’s sexuality. “I didn’t have any other way to contextualise them.”

Saltzman also revealed the muppets were a reflection of his own relationship with film editor Arnold Glassman, which impacted how he wrote the characters.

“I don’t think I’d know how else to write them, but as a loving couple,” he said.

The possibility of a homosexual relationship between the two Sesame Street characters, who live together in an apartment on the show and who are considered gay icons, has been debated by fans as well as the show itself.

Why Sesame Street still counts Show all 9 1 /9 Why Sesame Street still counts Why Sesame Street still counts From left, Cookie Monster, Prairie Dawn, Big Bird, Ernie, Elmo, Bert, Oscar the Grouch and Grover celebrate season 25, 1993-1994 Rex Features Why Sesame Street still counts Sesame Street hosts Matt Robinson (Gordon), Will Lee (Mr Hooper), Loretta Long (Susan), and Bob McGrath (Bob) with Big Bird circa 1969 Getty Why Sesame Street still counts Portrait of the Muppets in 1981. Includes Oscar the Crouch (in the trash can), Bert (holding the washboard), Ernie (with the harmonica) The Court (playing the bass), Cookie Monster (playing the banjo), Grover (with the violin) and Big Bird (far right). Getty Images Why Sesame Street still counts The famous member of the Muppets gang 'Kermit the Frog' made regular appearances on Sesame Street Getty Images Why Sesame Street still counts In 2002 South Africa's Sesame Street introduced 'Kami', the world's first muppet 'living with HIV'. Her name is derived from the Tswana word for 'acceptance'. Getty Images Why Sesame Street still counts Actress Whoopi Goldberg kisses Kami to mark World AIDS Day Getty Images Why Sesame Street still counts First Lady Michelle Obama pays a visit to Sesame Street Reuters Why Sesame Street still counts Actress Sarah Jessica Parker with Elmo Reuters Why Sesame Street still counts UN Secretary Kofi Annan poses with the Sesame Street character Elmo Getty Images

After same-sex marriage was legalised in New York, a petition circulated that requested a wedding episode between the duo.

The sentiment was echoed with a 2013 cover of The New Yorker that depicted the Muppets watching the Supreme Court ruling as they lay together on the couch, clearly a couple.

At the time, Sesame Street had released a statement in which it referred to Bert and Ernie as “best friends” that were “created to teach preschoolers that people can be good friends with those who are very different from themselves,” according to Pink News.

Following Saltzman's announcement, the Sesame Workshop reiterated its previous stance on Twitter, adding: "Even though they are identified as male characters and possess many human traits and characteristics, they remain puppets, and do not have a sexual orientation."

Despite the show's response, the new revelation regarding the pair’s homosexual relationship has been met with approval and support on social media.