Groundskeeper Willie was named "The Most Instantly Recognizable Scot in the World" by Times in 2005. Groundskeeper Willie is the Scottish  groundskeeper at Springfield Elementary School on the TV show "The Simpsons". He is portrayed as an angry Scot, although he does often let his soft side slip out.  It is argued where Willie actually comes from. He has said that he was engaged to Sherry Bobbins until she got her eyesight back, then the "ugliest man in Glasgow" wasn't good enough for her. On the contrary, a detective once commented that Willie was the "spitting image of the Aberdeen strangler" and he has been known to awaken from a football dream shouting "Go Aberdeen". In another episode, Willie claims to be from North Kilt Town.

Dan Castellaneta, the voice behind the Groundskeeper, was unsure what voice to use for the character initially, and it was suggested that he use an accent. He first tried Spanish, but felt too cliched. Secondly, he tried a Swedish accent, but it too was denied. He finally settled on an angry Scotsman.

High points of the character include being trained to be civilized in a science fair project, wrestling a wolf that was let loose in the school, and becoming a substitute for the French language teacher -'Bon jourrr!'

Some aspects of his Scottish heritage also appear in the show. Willie becomes a bagpipe resembling  spider in a Treehouse of Horrors episode where he invades the children's dreams. He was also tricked into performing at "Scotchtoberfest". He proves that he's a true Scot when it's revealed that he wears nothing under his kilt. He can play the bagpipes, as shown at a funeral  for his dead bees, and also promotes the eating of haggis.

Here are a couple of  Willie's quotes that also reflect his Scottish heritage:
In an episode where they find the Loch Ness Monster, Willie is quoted as saying "Och, back to the loch wi'ye Nessie".
When trying to chase down an escaped timber wolf, Willie says "There's nary an animal alive that can outrun a greased Scotsman!"

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