The end of the landmark 7 UP documentary series chronicling a British generation from beginning to end.
They never sought to be stars. Indeed, many would regret ever agreeing to have their entire lives chronicled by what has often been described as the ‘greatest documentary’ ever made, one which has more than stood the test of time.
Back in 1964, television cameras revealed the lives and inner thoughts of a cross section of 14 British seven-year-olds for a series called 7 Up.
The cameras would come back every seven years, creating a genuine piece of broadcasting and social history, one which will come to an end this month.
We will finally bid farewell as those cheeky children in grainy black and white now sign off in colour as pensioners in the final series 70 Up.
Along the way, they have also charted the trajectory of post-war Britain. For it is not the original cast who have changed so much as the world around them.
The result is a powerful elegy to a generation who, at times, seem entirely removed from the entitled, ill-tempered, serially complaining 21st century society we have become…
The area was all-white when the girls first appeared aged seven. By the time Bruce is teaching there in 1984, many if not most of his pupils are Asian. Today, the borough is just 24 per cent white.
At least the people who replace the British will have some record of the culture they replaced, much like the 19th century British digging up the ruins of Roman villas.
