Pipkins (originally Inigo Pipkin) was a British children's TV programme. Hartley Hare, Pig, Topov and the gang were the stars of ATV's legendary pre-school series which ran from January 1973 to 29 December 1981.

Pipkins was one of the first children's programmes on British TV where the characters had regional accents (Pig had a Black Country accent while Topov the monkey was a Cockney).

In 1972, the ITV network expanded its daytime broadcasting hours and the Independent Broadcasting Authority commissioned four of the main ITV companies to each provide a series of interest to pre-schoolers, as an alternative to the successful US import Sesame Street. From this commission Thames Television came up with Rainbow, Yorkshire Mister Trimble, Hickory House from Granada Television and ATV’s contribution would be Inigo Pipkin.

Inigo Pipkin was first shown on New Year's Day 1973. When the show started, the main character was an elderly puppet maker called Inigo Pipkin (hence the original title), played by actor George Woodbridge. The puppets were his creations, and over the course of the first series, viewers saw Mr. Pipkin bring to life Topov the monkey and Octavia the ostrich.

However, Woodbridge died in March 1973, during the recording of the second series. In 1974, in a first for children's television, Inigo's death was worked into the programme, predating the Mr. Hooper episode on Sesame Street by nine years. From this episode onwards the show was renamed Pipkins, and Inigo's assistant, Johnny (Wayne Laryea), took over.

The direction of the programme had to change; from hereon in the show ceased to centre around a puppet workshop and the characters became "The Help People", helping anyone in need of a hand.

Johnny left Pipkins around 1978, to be replaced by Tom (Jonathan Kydd), who moved on in 1980, his place taken by Peter Potter (Paddy O'Hagan). In later years Sue Nicholls made regular appearances as the Pipkins' neighbour, Mrs Muddle. The name was somewhat ironic as she was always a calming, self-assured presence around the puppets.

The familiar workshop set was replaced in 1979 (in the story "Moving Out") with new interiors based around a kitchen and backyard. The new set was built up from ground level to enable puppeteers to work standing up and to move around more freely, modelled on the methods used by The Muppet Show which was also filmed at ATV's Elstree studios.