- Published
Six decades have passed since Jackie Bassett first appeared on TV aged seven, skipping down the road with her little sister.
asserted
Bassett → publish → sister
It was 1964 and she had been selected by teachers at her east London primary school to appear in a documentary called 7 Up.
asserted
she → select → documentary
The show interviewed 14 seven-year-olds from vastly different socioeconomic backgrounds.
asserted
show → interview → backgrounds
Inspired by the Jesuit saying: "Give me the child until he is seven and I will show you the man", it was intended as a one-off - a snapshot of Britain's class system and how it shapes us from a young age.
asserted
it → inspire → age
"They only picked me because I never stopped talking," Jackie told the BBC, with an infectious giggle that hasn't changed since childhood.
asserted
that → pick → childhood
Little did she know then, but Jackie was being filmed for a show that would go on to be the longest-running documentary series ever made.
asserted
that → know → show
In 2024, it was voted the most influential TV show of the past 50 years.
asserted
it → vote → years
Now the curtain is falling, with the final instalment - 70 Up - airing on ITV this Tuesday.
asserted
instalment → fall → ITV
"We didn't really know what we were doing, we had no idea what was happening," Jackie said of the day the Granada TV crew turned up at her school.
asserted
crew → know → school
In the first episode, Jackie appeared alongside her friends, Lynn and Sue, as they were asked questions about boys at school and their hopes for the future.
asserted
they → appear → future
Jackie said she would like to marry a boy "that's not got a lot of money, but has got some money".
asserted
that → say → money
The nation was also introduced to the likes of wide-eyed Neil, who explained his plans to become either an astronaut or a coach driver; anxious Paul, who ruminated on the idea of one day marrying a woman who made him eat his greens; and pensive Bruce, who said his "heart's desire is to see my daddy who is 6,000 miles away" in Rhodesia.
asserted
who → introduce → Rhodesia
The first episode was directed by Canadian Paul Almond, with the help of a young researcher named Michael Apted, who was involved in selecting the children.
asserted
who → direct → children
Apted then decided to follow up on the children seven years later.
asserted
Apted → decide → children
"The material was dreadful – as teenagers, they wouldn't say anything," he later said of the second episode, 7 Plus Seven.
asserted
he → say → episode
"Yet we started to realise the power of the idea; despite the film not being very good, everyone was interested in it."
Apted went on to become a big name in Hollywood, directing blockbusters including James Bond's The World Is Not Enough, but he always returned to the show and said it was his most significant achievement.
asserted
it → start → show
Every seven years, millions would tune in for updates on the cast's lives.
asserted
millions → tune → lives
Neil's dreamy outlook on the world as a child descended into battles with depression, isolation and homelessness, only to turn up as a Liberal Democrat councillor at 42 and then a lay preacher seven years later.
asserted
outlook → descend → 42
Jackie initially said she did not want children, but by 42 Up was an adoring mother to three boys.
asserted
Up → say → boys
As the series grew in popularity, Apted started receiving push-back from some of the participants, who felt they had been typecast based on their backgrounds.
asserted
they → grow → backgrounds
At 21, Apted asked Jackie - who had recently got married - whether she had met "enough men" before she decided to marry.
asserted
she → ask → men
For the rest of the interview, she mostly looked to the floor while Sue and Lynn answered questions.
asserted
Sue → look → questions
It took her 18 years to fully confront Apted over his questioning.
asserted
It → take → questioning
In 49 Up, she told him: "I was really angry… you wouldn't have asked some of the other people in this programme that question.
asserted
you → tell → question
You will edit this programme as you see fit, I've got no control over that."
asserted
I → edit → that
Recalling the tense exchange, Jackie said she felt Apted could be out of touch, particularly over the changing roles of women in society.
uncertain
Apted → recall → society
"I think he still thought we were all in the kitchen, as I mentioned to him at 21.
asserted
I → think → 21
I just thought, 'No, come on, it's about time one of us called you out on it, because he never never asked us questions about politics.
asserted
he → think → politics
It was nearly always domestic," she said.
asserted
she → say → ?
Jackie was not the only cast member to clash with Apted.
asserted
Jackie → clash → Apted
John Brisby, who became a leading barrister, declared in 35 Up that the show felt like a "little pill of poison" injected into his veins every seven years and he wished his headmaster had never put him up for the show.
asserted
headmaster → become → show
He appeared in later series but refused to be interviewed by Apted.
asserted
He → appear → Apted
And Charles Furneaux, who later worked at the BBC before becoming commissioning editor at Channel 4, refused to appear after 21 Up following an off-camera argument in which Apted later admitted he went "berserk".
asserted
he → work → which
Apted acknowledged flaws with the show, saying it was a "horrible error" to have only four women in a cast of 14 when making the original selection.
asserted
it → acknowledge → selection
Five years ago, Apted passed away, aged 79.
asserted
Apted → pass → ?
The effect he had on the cast is clear in the final episode.
asserted
he → have → episode
Despite their differences, Jackie maintains deep affection and respect for the man she said "opened up a world to me that I would never have known".
asserted
I → maintain → that
"I've always said it's a bit like having an uncle in the family.
asserted
it → say → family
Sometimes you love him and cuddle him to death, and other times you think: I wish he'd just go away.
"
asserted
he → love → death
He would always, always help anybody and anything."
asserted
He → help → anybody
…and 19 more, not listed.
The Aporia
