United Kingdom, Jan. 7 -- The Simpsons has retired a fan-favourite character.

The latest episode of the comedy series, Seperance, which parodied sci-fi drama Severance, saw the titular family dicover Duff Beer mascot Duffman had lost his job.

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 passe. 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...