It could be further evidence that the death knell for The Simpsons is looming. Nancy Cartwright, the voice artist behind Bart Simpson, has spelled out how she wants the show to end, specifying the need for a conclusion to the long-running favourite that has respect for both viewers and the show's staff.

Cartwright, who has voiced the obnoxiously lovable 10-year-old fourth grader since the US's most dysfunctional family first appeared in 1987, has said when the show comes to a close, it shouldn't be a quick decision sparked by negotiations over money.

Loveable scamp: Marge Simpson with her mischievous son, Bart, who is voiced by Nancy Cartwright.

Speculation has long been circling around The Simpsons, which has been signed up by Fox for seasons 27 and 28, with options for 29 and 30, amid criticisms that quality has declined, and its razor-sharp satirical edge has somewhat blunted.

"What I would really love to happen, if it's not going to go on any more than that, I would like to put out there that it's a decision that's made outside of a negotiation," says Cartwright. "That it gives the writers a chance to be able to end the series in a dignified, respectable way that the public has earned.