One of the most popular supporting characters from the hit US TV show The Simpsons has been revealed as hailing from Kirkwall. The Orkney origins of Groundskeeper Willie, Springfield Elementary's curmudgeonly janitor, will be divulged in an episode to be screened in the US later in February.

In the episode, flame-haired Willie is shown as a young Orcadian born of a ‘Doonie’ father and an ‘Uppie’ mother in a family torn apart by the rivalry of The Ba’, the island's traditional festive football game. The revelations came in an interview with Simpsons writer Rob Lazebnik broadcast on Radio Orkney on Thursday morning where he discussed the episode, titled The Daughter also Rises.