Jim Hopkins (born 1946) is a New Zealander entertainer known for his work in television, radio, and theatre.
Hopkins was the scriptwriter for Close to Home, the presenter of Fast Forward, Don't Tell Me, The Inventors, and Dateline Monday as well as a performer on The BNZ Festival Debates and a radio talkback host on Radio Pacific in Auckland and Radio Avon in Christchurch.
In August 1998, Hopkins released his first book, Blokes & Sheds,[1] which hit number one on the New Zealand sales list after only a week.[citation needed] The book profiles amateur inventors from across New Zealand. Hopkins followed it with another book, Inventions from the Shed, in 1999.[2] He made a 5-part film documentary series with the same name which features inventors across Australia.[3]
In 2007 Hopkins was elected as a councillor for the Waitaki District Council in Oamaru, Otago and became Deputy Mayor in 2010.[4] In July 2013 he announced his intention to stand for the mayoralty in the local body elections which were held later in the year.[5]