Beckham best role model, Simpson worst

Footballers and pop stars are the best role models for children, according to a new poll, which found most adults believe youngsters have no one to look up to.

Footballers and pop stars are the best role models for children, according to a new poll, which found most adults believe youngsters have no one to look up to.

Footballer David Beckham is the most suitable role model for children, according to a survey of adults released yesterday.

Inspiration: More than half (55%) of adults questioned said he was a good, or very good role model for children.

By contrast, the least suitable idols were Homer Simpson, the slobbish, beer-swilling dad from the hit US cartoon The Simpsons, followed by foul-mouthed chef Gordon Ramsay and Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Beckham, the former England captain who plays for Los Angeles Galaxy in the United States, was rated a "very good" role model by 19 per cent of those surveyed and "good" by 36 per cent.

In second place on the list was David Cameron, the leader of main opposition Conservative Party.

More than 2,000 people were quizzed for the research, which was carried out online in March by Opinium Research and released by charity the Children's Society to mark the launch of a new mentoring initiative.