70 Up review – a deeply moving conclusion for the 63-year-long TV experiment

The ambitious and groundbreaking documentary series, "7 Up," initiated by Granada Television in 1964, has reached its profound conclusion with the release of "70 Up." This unparalleled television experiment, which set out to explore the enduring impact of social class and early life experiences on individual trajectories, has spanned an extraordinary 63 years. The project commenced with "Seven Up!," a program that introduced 14 primary school children – a diverse group of 10 boys and four girls from various socio-economic backgrounds – to a national audience. This initial installment was part of ITV's esteemed "World in Action" current affairs strand and was directed by Paul Almond. However, the series quickly became inextricably associated with the vision and stewardship of Michael Apted. Apted, who played a crucial role in the initial selection of the children, took over the directorial reins from the second installment onwards, guiding the project through its subsequent decades. His dedication to the series was immense, and he continued to oversee its production until his passing in 2021. Apted had completed "63 Up" two years prior to his death, and at that juncture, it was widely presumed that the extensive series would finally draw to a close. The impetus for the creation of "70 Up" arose from a deeply personal and poignant development: Nick Hitchon, one of the original participants, who hailed from a Yorkshire farming family and later pursued a career as a nuclear scientist, contacted the production team. Hitchon revealed that he had been diagnosed with terminal cancer and expressed a strong desire to participate in one final interview, offering a last opportunity to reflect on his life within the context of the series. This moving request led to the commissioning of "70 Up" as a final, elegiac chapter. The series' foundational philosophy was rooted in the Jesuit motto, "Give me the child for the first seven years and I will give you the man," a principle that guided the filmmakers' exploration of human development and the shaping forces of life over time. "70 Up," directed by acclaimed filmmaker Asif Kapadia, is described as the most elegiac and thoughtful installment to date, providing a deeply moving and fitting conclusion to a television experiment that has offered an unparalleled longitudinal study of human lives, societal shifts, and personal resilience for over six decades.