Back in 1964, 14 seven-year-olds were selected for a radical project. Four lived in then East EndThe East End includes areas of London around Tower Hamlets, Newham and Hackney. It is a melting-pot of different cultures and ethnicities. of London. Two were growing up in care. A handful studied at a posh prep school, and a few were plucked from England's growing middle classes.
Reality show tracks tangled lives of Sixties children
Back in 1964, 14 seven-year-olds were selected for a radical project. Four lived in then East EndThe East End includes areas of London around Tower Hamlets, Newham and Hackney. It is a melting-pot of different cultures and ethnicities. of London. Two were growing up in care. A handful studied at a posh prep school, and a few were plucked from England's growing middle classes.
Q & A
Each was to star in 7 Up - a unique documentary exploring the lives of very different children. Its inspiration was a JesuitA Roman Catholic order of religious men. Jesuits are members of the Society of Jesus. saying: "give me the child when he is seven, and I will give you the man." Producers wanted to know how a seven-year-old's class and background would shape the adult they would become.
Now, the gap-toothed 7 Up children are 56 years old - and the show has revisited them every seven years. Have their lives turned out as expected?
The wrinkled, contented 56-year-olds certainly look very different to the children of 1964's grainy footage. Tony, who dreamed of becoming a jockey at school, is a taxi driver. The laughing, cheeky Neil is an introspective 56-year-old, with a painful history of mental illness.
Many are surprised at their own achievements. East End schoolgirl Sue did not go to university: she married at 24, and at 42 was a single mum. Now, she runs courses at a London University, and regularly speaks in front of hundreds of students.
Neil has experienced even bigger twists. As a 14-year-old, he hoped to go to Oxford University. Fourteen years later he was homeless, and living in the wilds of Scotland. Then, he imagined he would be facing the same poverty in his forties. But seven years on, he became a councillor in London.
Sometimes, even director Michael Apted makes wrong assumptions about his subjects. By 21 Up, he confesses, he had marked Tony as destined for jail. In a long sequence, he even showed him touring London's criminal hotspots. Now, however, the middle-aged cabbie is happily married, with a clean record.
These negative assumptions mean continuing with the series is no easy ride. Many participants say their private life is no place for TV cameras. And as they grow older, Apted says, persuading the subjects to take part is still a struggle.
The Kids are alright?
Can we see the adult a child of seven will become? Many think these stories show that life's course is not decided at such an early age. Some of the poorest children in 7 Up are now doing very well. And some of the richest have not been so lucky.
Others are not so sure. They think the things that shape the direction of someone's life - personality, education, intelligence - are in place at an early age. Though some have made surprising turns, the 56-year-olds can clearly be seen in their seven-year-old selves.
Is there a modern equivalent of7 Up?: Sort of. The BBC created a spin-off documentary called 7 Up 2000, which documents the lives of more contemporary children. It was revisited in 2007, when the children were 14.
How is it different?: The children involved come from very different backgrounds - both to each other, and those of 1964. Then, the slice of Britain 7 Up represented was almost entirely white, and predominantly male - reflecting, perhaps, the tendency for men to go on to work, and women to stay in the home. Filmmakers also focused on the very rich and very poor - missing out the middle classes, which have grown in size and influence since the 1960s.
Keywords
East End - The East End includes areas of London around Tower Hamlets, Newham and Hackney. It is a melting-pot of different cultures and ethnicities.
Jesuit - A Roman Catholic order of religious men. Jesuits are members of the Society of Jesus.
Reality show tracks tangled lives of Sixties children
Glossary
East End - The East End includes areas of London around Tower Hamlets, Newham and Hackney. It is a melting-pot of different cultures and ethnicities.
Jesuit - A Roman Catholic order of religious men. Jesuits are members of the Society of Jesus.