The Simpsons has retired a fan-favourite character

Barry Duffman came to the Simpsons' home in a bid to recruit Homer to work for the soulless EOD (Enthusiasm on Demand) and admtted he'd hung up his beer can-belt for good.

He said: "The Duff Corporation has retired that character forever,. All the old forms of advertising are now passé. Corporate spokesmen, print ads, TV spots. Today's kids can't even sing the jingles."

By the end of the episode, Barry - who first appeared in 1997's sesaon nine episode The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson - had left EOD but instead of returning to his red cape, sunglasses and famous belt, he was back in civilian attire.

Hank Azaria, who voiced Duffman, as well as the likes of Moe Szyslak, Chief Wiggum and Comic Book Guy, previously admitted the character is one of his least favourites to record dialogue for.

He told talk show host Conan O'Brien in 2020: "Duffman will blow me out in a second. I have to save Duffman for the end and I actually dread it.

"It actually does hurt, but I am not complaining."

The 61-year-old star previously admitted he feares he will be replaced by AI in the future.

He wrote in an op-ed for The New York Times newspaper: "I imagine that soon enough, artificial intelligence will be able to recreate the sounds of the more than 100 voices I created for characters on The Simpsons over almost four decades.

"It makes me sad to think about it. Not to mention, it seems just plain wrong to steal my likeness or sound - or anyone else's.

"In my case, AI could have access to 36 years of Moe, the permanently disgruntled bartender. He's appeared in just about every episode of 'The Simpsons'. He's been terrified, in love, hit in the head and, most often, in a state of bitter hatred. I've laughed as Moe in dozens of ways by now. I've probably sighed as Moe 100 times. In terms of training AI, that's a lot to work with."

But Hank - who has also worked on animated shows including Family Guy, Futurama, Spider-Man: The Animated Series and Bordertown - believes that however accurately AI can mimic his voice, it will be lacking in "humanness" because "our bodies and souls" play a big part in creating a character.

He wrote: "I'd like to think that no matter how much an AI version of Moe or Snake or Chief Wiggum will sound like my voice, something will still be missing - the humanness. There's so much of who I am that goes into creating a voice. How can the computer conjure all that?...

"What will the lack of humanness sound like? How big will the difference be? I honestly don't know, but I think it will be enough, at least in the near term, that we'll notice something is off, in the same way that we notice something's amiss in a subpar film or TV show.

"It adds up to a sense that what we're watching isn't real, and you don't need to pay attention to it.

"Believability is earned through craftsmanship, with good storytelling and good performances, good cinematography and good directing and a good script and good music."