Although many would find him hard to resist, David Beckham was once refused a role on The Simpsons because he wasn’t considered famous enough.

The soccer star - who lives in Los Angeles with wife Victoria Beckham and their three sons - approached the creators of the animated comedy to make a cameo appearance but was turned down as show chiefs didn’t feel Americans knew enough about him.

“We get a lot of requests from celebrities, and it’s always a shame when we have to turn people down,” Al Jean, the show’s principal writer and executive producer, said. “We had a request from David Beckham and I had to phone him up and tell him sorry but I didn’t want him on the show right now. I didn’t think he was a big enough star for an American audience.”

Meanwhile, another British celebrity made a different kind of impression on Hank Azaria.

“They sent me down to greet Mick Jagger when he arrived to record his part, and I said, ‘Hey, Mick, we’re thrilled to have you here.’ And he kind of blew right by me like I was the greeter, and went, all dismissively, ‘Yeah, we’ll get it.’ It made me a little bit annoyed,” the voice actor revealed to Live magazine. “I knew it was going to get awkward, because I was about to walk upstairs and record with him.”

The 450th episode of The Simpsons airs Sunday, January 10 @ 8:00.