The Simpsons announces new voice actor for fan favourite character after 35 years
It comes six months after Pamela Hayden announced she was leaving the show.
The replacement for a long-running The Simpsons character has been announced.
In 1989, Pamela Hayden joined the American animated series, voicing characters including Milhouse Van Houten, Jimbo Jones and Rod Flanders.
But in November 2024, after appearing in more than 700 episodes over 35 years, the 71-year-old revealed she was leaving the show.
‘The time has come for me to hang up my microphone, but how do I say goodbye to The Simpsons?……not easily,’ she shared in a statement.
‘It’s been an honour and a joy to have worked on such a funny, witty, and groundbreaking show, and to give voice to Milhouse (and Jimbo Jones, Rod Flanders, Janey, Malibu Stacy, and many others).’
Six months on, it’s now been revealed who will be replacing Hayden as Milhouse, best known for being Bart Simpson’s best friend.
The character first appeared on the show in 1989 (Picture: Sky TV)Entertainment Weekly has reported he will now be played by singer Kelly Macleod.
The musician has appeared in The Simpsons before — in 2022 she performed the song Two Badges, One Mind in an episode titled Bart the Cool Kid, which also starred The Weeknd and Michael Rapaport.
Macleod began her career as a member of the rock band Private Life, which released two albums produced by Eddie Van Halen and Ted Templeman.
Their song Touch Me was also featured on the soundtracks of two films:Wayne’s World and Gremlins 2: The New Batch.
Milhouse will now be voiced by Kelly Macleod (Picture: kelly.macleodmusic/ Instagram)Macleod then spent a decade with another band, The Sweet Potatoes, and released a solo album titled Wide Open in 2021.
She will make her debut on The Simpsons’ season finale, Estranger Things, on Sunday night.
The episode’s official synopsis teases: ‘When Bart & Lisa stop watching Itchy & Scratchy together, Marge fears that they’ll start to drift apart… but she has no idea how bad things are about to get!’
However, Milhouse will only have a minor part in this episode and will say one line. He will appear in a scene where he, Bart, and Lisa are all adults.
When announcing her exit from the show, Pamela Hayden paid tribute to her best-known character.
Pamela Hayden, who voiced Milhouse and other characters, announced she was leaving the show six months ago (Picture: Amy Graves/ Getty Images for Kash Hovey) Milhouse is Bart Simpson’s best friend (Picture: 20thCentFox/ Everett/ Rex/ Shutterstock)‘P.S. I’ll always have a special place in my heart for that blue-haired 10-year-old boy with glasses,’ she wrote.
Milhouse, named after former US president Richard Milhous Nixon, first appeared in The Simpsons in a Butterfinger commercial in 1989.
Creator Matt Groening previously explained his origin story, sharing: ‘Bart needed someone to talk to in the school cafeteria.
‘We named him Milhouse because that was the most unfortunate name a kid could have.’
The Simpsons is streaming on Disney Plus.
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