[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DX1iplQQJTo] Of course, this isn't the first time the show has taken a swipe at Fox: the cartoon has parodied Fox News, while the network's owner, Rupert Murdoch, has appeared in the show as a "billionaire tyrant".

It is the first time an artist has been involved in the opening credits of the show, credited with being the most successful television brand of all time. Al Jean, The Simpsons executive producer, joked: "This is what you get when you outsource."

Banksy is said to have been inspired by reports that Simpsons characters are animated in Seoul, South Korea.

The sequence is said to have been one of the most closely guarded secrets in US television – comparable to the concealment of Banksy's own identity.

The episode, MoneyBart, will be shown in the UK on 21 October.