The search has begun after one of The Simpson’s longest-running voiceover artists retires after 35 years.

Pamela Hayden, 70, is the voice of the 10-year-old, blue-haired boy and Bart Simpson’s best friend, Millhouse (and Jimbo Jones).

“The time has come for me to hang up my microphone, but how do I say goodbye to The Simpsons? Not easily,” Hayden told Deadline.

“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.

“I’ll always have a special place in my heart for that blue-haired, 10-year-old boy with glasses.”

Hayden said she regularly has fans approaching her and quoting the famous Milhouse lines; his most famous are “whazzzzzzzzz up” and “this is where I come to cry”.

Her favourite thing about the little guy, she says, was that “he gets knocked down but he keeps getting up”.

It was the greatest job in the world but she’s now looking for another one.

“Pamela Hayden has been a significant voice across several generations of childhood viewing,” RMIT’s children’s screen cultures expert, Doctor Djoymi Baker, tells The New Daily.

Created by Matt Groening in 1989, and named after former US president Richard Milhous Nixon, Milhouse first appeared in a Butterfinger commercial.

“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,” Groening said.

“Pamela gave us tons of laughs with Milhouse, the hapless kid with the biggest nose in Springfield. She made Milhouse hilarious and real, and we will miss her.”

Hayden has been credited with voiceovers on just under 700 of the 774 episodes to date, with her last show, Treehouse of Horror Presents: Simpsons Wicked This Way Comes, on November 24.

Fans caught off guard

It’s the end of an era for the near-sighted Milhouse, who was often the butt of most jokes, and bullied mercilessly.

Bart even placed him on America’s Most Wanted List.

As casting for her characters is reportedly underway, according to the Associated Press, fans – many caught off guard by the sudden announcement – are divided on how the voice of Milhouse should be replaced.

Should the long-running series, after 36 seasons, end?

“Just kill off the show,” suggested one commenter after an official Pamela Hayden package announcing her retirement was shared on social media and viewed more than 2.5 million times.

“Are they killing off Milhouse or are they going to use AI for his voice?,” asked another.

“I still use “everything’s coming up Milhouse” whenever something goes right for me,” lamented a third.

Baker say The Simpsons is a show that appeals to all generations of viewers.

In a recent Swinburne and RMIT study, Baker said children aged seven to nine confessed they had to watch it secretly without their parents knowing.

“Voice replacements for longstanding characters has happened before, such as Mel Blanc with Warner Bros. cartoons, or Frank Oz and Jim Henson with Sesame Street and The Muppets,” she said.

“Our research with adults shows that we all hold a special nostalgic soft spot for the programs we watched and loved as children.

“Re-voiced characters keep them alive, but they’re never quite the same.”

The show is under fire for the character Apu. Photo: Getty

Joy over controversy

While a whole generation of fans have grown up with The Simpsons, about a misfit family growing up in Springfield with dad Homer working at the nearby nuclear plant, the show has courted controversy on occasion.

Screen Rant writes there have been several episodes banned due to representation, real-world events and cultural misalignment.

Apu who runs the Kwik-E-Mart, where he sells expired food, rips off customers and delivers a sing-song slogan, was one character involved in a ban.

People of South Asian heritage criticised the character Apu for reinforcing stereotypes which they say lead to bullying, self-loathing and embarrassment.

However, the joy of the show has outrun any controversy.

“I guess on Sunday I will go to the place where I go to cry. Thank you for making me laugh for all this time Pamela,” wrote fan Darren Currie.

“Few can say they voiced a truly iconic character. Long live Thrillhouse.”