The Simpsons have been going strong for more than 13 years

In the poll, carried out by listings magazine Radio Times, 38% of viewers voted for Homer, the father in the cult series The Simpsons.

In second place with 14% was Frasier Crane of the comedy series Frasier, while Rachel from Friends, came third with 10% of the votes.

The Simpsons recently celebrated its 300th episode after 13 years on screen. Its success has made global icons of its dysfunctional family, in particular dumb dad Homer.

Top US TV characters 1.Homer Simpson 2.Frasier Crane 3.Rachel from Friends 4. John Carter from ER 5.President Bartlet from The West Wing 6.Buffy Summers 7. Carrie from Sex and the City

The Radio Times poll also asked UK viewers their opinion on several other aspects of US TV.

Asked what they considered to be the best thing about US TV shows, most viewers voted for their glamour.

But in answer to the worst thing about US TV, 47% said the people in its programmes were "too perfect".

Bad effects

In another question, viewers said they considered the programme content on 24-hour news channel CNN to be most representative of the American people.

In second place came Friends and The Simpsons trailed in at number three.

Frasier was a popular choice in the poll

Later in the poll, the majority of respondents said they only believed about 50% of the US's Iraqi war coverage.

Overall, most people - 82% - said US TV was having an increasing influence on British culture.

Most also said the negative effects of US TV on British children outweighed the positive.

The majority concluded that the younger generation was overexposed to US culture and that this was undermining the English language.