Robert Burns has been named the 'Greatest ever Scot' and his work has influenced such figures as Abraham Lincoln, Michael Jackson, John Steinbeck and Tracy Emin.

The birth of Robert Burns us marked every year with recitals and dinners around the world.

But more than 200 years after his death, what is his enduring appeal?

Scotland Tonight discussed Robert Burns with actor and writer John Cairney, who is one of the leading performers of the work of Burns, Doctor Kirsteen McCue, a Scottish literature lecturer from Glasgow University and John Shirkie, a Burns devotee from the bard's own county of Ayrshire.