Sesame Street star Big Bird has become one of the most unusual individuals to be drawn into the ongoing presidential campaign, after Republican hopeful Mitt Romney announced his intentions to cut federal funding to TV network PBS, the network that Sesame Street features on.

Now, the yellow feathered star of the long running kids show has been drawn well and truly into the limelight with a number of chat shows asking for a chat with him about Romney's proposal. Saturday Night Live, Jimmy Fallon, Piers Morgan, the Today show and Good Morning America have so far all asked the show's producers for the puppet to make an appearance on the show, however all approaches have been declined.

Mr Romney revealed that he planned to cut funding of the network during a debate with President Barack Obama, despite admitting: "I love Big Bird."

During a recent campaign stop off in Madison, Wisconsin, Mr Obama gave his opinion on the matter, saying, "I just want to make sure I've got this straight: He'll get rid of regulations on Wall Street, but he's going to crack down on Sesame Street. Thank goodness somebody's finally cracking down on Big Bird! Who knew that he was responsible for all these deficits! Elmo's got to watch out!"