Death. Always a good thing in kids’ stuff, hey? Bambi’s mum dying – that was great, wasn’t it? Ditto Simba’s dad in The Lion King.
Back in the day, there was a TV programme called Pipkins. Or at least, that’s what it eventually became known as. It started as Inigo Pipkin, the main character being an elderly puppet maker called Inigo Pipkin played by George Woodbridge. During the course of Inigo Pipkin, Pipkin brought to life a series of puppets including Topov the monkey and Octavia the ostrich.
However, Woodbridge died during the recording of the second series. In a first for children’s television, Inigo’s death was worked into the programme. From this episode onwards the show was renamed Pipkins, and Inigo’s assistant, Johnny (Wayne Laryea), took over. The direction of the programme also changed, the show no longer centering around a puppet workshop and the characters becoming “The Help People”, helping anyone in need.
Most iconic of all the puppets was Hartley Hare, a very arch hare who loved to be the centre of attention. As this weird old title sequence and series of clips shows you.
