Despite the rise in prestige drama and comedy, it can feel that, in 2026, much of the innovation and ground-breaking television is behind us, which makes the final instalment of the documentary series 7Up all the more heart-breaking — and its contents alone could already qualify it as the most moving television of the year.

Starting in 1964 as a one-off piece for World of Action, it looked at the changing role of class in the UK through the lives of 7-year-old children from across a variety of backgrounds, viewing them through the eyes of the adage that “give me a child at 7 and I will show you the man”. Initially only a member of production, director Michael Apted was so moved and fascinated by the initial film that he continued to update on the children’s lives every 7 years, until his death in 2021. His team continued his work and decided that one last update on the group at age 70 would be the closing of this particular book.

Over 7 decades, the Up series has given us insight into the lives of ordinary Britons in a way no show ever has — or likely ever will. Intended to show the changing place of class in our lives, it has unexpectedly also shown the changing face of television. While reality shows and social experiments are commissioned in abundance, each is only a snapshot of a life, a small window in time showing how a person behaves in a particular environment or during a specific period of their life. As participant Nick said, we never see this view of life: “we don’t see the big picture of how things change”. And thanks to the proliferation of celebrity culture coming from reality TV, the innocence and lack of guile by the participants is all the more stark. Just as there will no longer be children who have grown up without the internet, there will no longer be children who can appear on TV with no concept of what that would mean to their lives.

How staggering to hear Charles — who withdrew from the programme at age 28 – say that neither the children nor their parents gave consent for the initial film, and it was thrust upon them by a headteacher. And how telling that, despite that start and frequent withdrawals, so many of the participants agreed to return for the final chance to have their say. 

The “observer effect” is obviously relevant, and who can say how much taking part in the series, knowing they would be filmed every 7 years, altered the children’s lives. Would Charles have become a TV producer if he had not felt that 7Up had portrayed him unfairly? Would Bruce have been such a staunch socialist without the show’s illumination of the class system? Would Paul have found his mother’s family if it wasn’t for the show? It’s impossible to know the extent to which simply being in the show shaped their lives, but there is a sense that each considered their life and achievements with a clarity and frequency that most of us avoid. How would we fare if we were confronted with celluloid examples of things we’d said and done in the past? It’s something we all have to consider now thanks to the internet, but few of us will see our answers broadcast to millions.

With 7 decades of material to sift through, and 14 lives to update us on, the 2 episodes could have felt rushed and superficial, yet somehow it managed to be the deepest and most important update of all, exploring the big questions of life with all of the group. The production crew has always been exemplary in asking the right questions and following the particular threads of their lives which have been picked up by Apted or the audience over the updates, and this edition highlighted that skill as we rounded off their individual stories. Hearing the voice of Apted note that in the adventure playground in 1964, the 2 boys from a children’s home — Paul and Symon — began to build a home, without knowing how their lives would unfold, then flashing to Paul with his grandchildren, and Symon with some of the 130 children he and his wife have fostered, brings a lump to the throat.

Yet, if Apted or the audience ever veers too much into lessons, and a sense of being able to predict the future from the children’s interviews, the most talked-about participant, Neil, upturns that apple cart. On screen, he was a perky, promising bright child from a suburb, but by his early 20s, depression had captured his life and put it out to sea. It was impossible to predict where he would wash ashore every 7 years, from homelessness to politics to preaching. Now we find him in France, living in a damp, cluttered house, a plethora of books seeming to be his only friends. He is vulnerable, articulate and startlingly undemanding of life, and is captured with tenderness and respect by the production. 

That it was those from the upper and middle-class backgrounds who more closely followed the life path they had expected was not laboured, and it was fascinating to see the mixed response from the 70-year-olds on whether they believed the class system in place in 1964 still existed, when their lives spelled it out. Apted and his crew allowed the participants’ lives to speak for themselves, despite the fact that several felt they had been “cast” into certain roles that didn’t fit them — or at least, did not represent the entirety of who they were. There were no spoon-fed lessons learned, or sweeping, trite conclusions, only a careful construction that led the audience through the lives of this varied group and allowed them to tell us their story in their own words. The simplicity of this style of filmmaking made the series, and the finale in particular, the most powerful depiction of British life on TV.

Most moving of all is Nick, the ambitious nuclear researcher, who had updated in 2019 that he had throat cancer, and who called up the production in 2023 to let them know he wanted to give one last interview. There is a peace and sadness beautifully captured as this frail figure sits on his porch and tells us how sad he’ll be not to have another update to look forward to. The on-screen text that he died just 3 days later is only one of the myriad moments that bring tears to the eyes through the 3 hours of content, as the harshness and richness of life that is thrown at the group is revealed. 

There is, however, as much unspoken as spoken, as the likes of Jackie pull a curtain over parts of their lives they don’t want to share — and in the second episode we dig into their disagreements and disillusionment with Apted, as well as Apted’s own thoughts with hindsight. It’s clear he did have preconceptions — particularly with the women — and knew he had made mistakes, though he learned much from his subjects, and had his life altered by their involvement with him, as his theirs.

The relationship they had with Apted, though, in the end, seems to be one of respect and gratitude from almost all the group and speaks to the care with which ITV and the production took with their lives. Even with touchy subjects – such as taxi-driver Tony’s possible racism – we are always given the whole picture, and it is beautifully put into context with upper-class Andrew’s story of his parents’ immigration into the UK. In a world rife with tribalism, perhaps no other show was able to show the complexity in British citizens who are very rarely all good or all bad, so explicitly. John, the epitome of the upper class, who said at 14 that he would ban strikes, feared that he came across as a “prig”. Yet we see that the barrister who loves fox hunting also fought for those who lost their pension in the Maxwell financial mess, and only took part in the 1990s in order to highlight the plight of orphans in Bulgaria.

In the end, the differences and gripes are not what you take away, but the deeply moving humanity and simple joys in life which are illuminated by the series. With most of the group retired, many seem to be entering a second childhood — indulging in hobbies, playing with grandchildren, and discovering who they truly are outside of career and family roles.

There is an odd sense of optimism achieved by the film, despite the sad loss of Nick and children’s librarian Lynn, as we examine what life feels like for those entering their golden years. The initial intent to highlight class differences or dissolution is washed away in the simple lessons of life, as the cast look back and universally express contentment with their lot. As retired music teacher Peter sings in his self-penned song “The only thing certain is leaving this life, so don’t leave it with any regrets”, and most of the cast mention only wanting more time with family – the importance of which echoes through every participant.

Though for us, the audience, the regret is clear — that the likes of this deeply affecting, starkly simple, televisual devotion to the life of ordinary people will never be seen again. And how poorer we shall be for it.

The Up series is available now on ITVX.