Do you remember the 7 up programmes?

silverlining48

Neil was actually my favourite of the children, it was very sad to see the change wrought by his mental health deteriorating when he seemed such a happy child.
He has remained in the programme and ended up in local politics up in a Scottish island I think.
Everyone in my course liked Tony who wanted to be a jockey, and so he was.

Nick was my favourite, I feel really sad that he died and never hot to the moon.

Tony was/is great, isn't he!

I remember thinking how dreadfully snobbish and entitled some of them were but as time went on they seemed to mellow. I think the world is a bit different now ,though.

I am of the same age, as I am sure many here are.

I stopped watching it a long time ago as I found it profoundly depressing and in the end, all rather pointless.

I think it showed the power of telelvision then, and maybe an expectation that it was all going to be of some significance and importance, when it really wasn't.

The class divide is even greater now, and that is really depressing.

BlueBelle

I thought I d seen it all but I wasn’t even in Uk in ‘64 so can’t have done as I wasn’t in a country with a British TV I do remember the little chap who wanted to be a jockey I also watched the Ray Winston one
Isn’t that strange I could have sworn I d seen it all 🤷🏼‍♂️

I don’t remember the Robert ( not Ray!)Winston one, and can only find a spin off on You Tube. It’s not available on iPlayer either. Any ideas where I might find it?

Chestnut

There was another similar series with Robert Winston called Child of Our Time which covered them from birth in 2000 until the age of 20 to see how they developed as they grew into adulthood. There won't be any more. The 25 children were chosen to represent a wide range of backgrounds. That was also very interesting especially in 2017 when he was analysing the brain patterns of 16 year olds. It's fascinating how they change and develop at that age.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_of_Our_Time

I already posted the link to Child of Our Time with Robert Winston.

Neil was my favourite too, and his story had a happy ending. He inherited a large sum of money and was able to go and live in France. He seemed much more settled in the last programme.

as many have said, i am the same age as the participants so have always followed the programmes with great interest. I often wonder if them being on the programme influenced some of their choices in life. I am sad to read that Nick has died. I remember them showing tributes when Lynn died

I think it was an amazing series and a great experiment I really must watch it again as I was only young when I watched it originally

I really enjoyed seeing them all grow up. A really interesting series. I always felt sad for Neil.
Does anyone remember the BBC 'fly on the wall' programmes about the Wilkins family? I used to love watching them.
It was called 'The Family' and made in 1974.

I used to work with one of the 7up girls and remember the crew filming when they were 21. How time flies....

Chestnut

Chestnut

There was another similar series with Robert Winston called Child of Our Time which covered them from birth in 2000 until the age of 20 to see how they developed as they grew into adulthood. There won't be any more. The 25 children were chosen to represent a wide range of backgrounds. That was also very interesting especially in 2017 when he was analysing the brain patterns of 16 year olds. It's fascinating how they change and develop at that age.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_of_Our_Time

I already posted the link to Child of Our Time with Robert Winston.

I’m only getting the Wikipedia page on that link, and external links there all go to iPlayer’s ‘not available’ , nothing leading to the actual programmes.

I think I’ve watched them all the way through , and always admired all the participants in their generous handling of a decision made for them at 7 years old . Their judgements about when and how to participate every 7 years was interesting in itself . Some of them had occasional quite critical reactions to the intrusion although this in some cases mellowed or changed over time . I became very fond of them all , and thankful that they gave us a window on the world of a generation slightly younger than mine. It was Michael Apted’s project and maybe any plan for its future is now bequeathed to the families themselves .

Sorry Daddima, it was 7Up where I posted a link to the actual series, my mistake.

You're right, Child of Our Time is not available on BBC iPlayer which is a shame. I would have watched it again. Maybe they will put it on in the future.
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0072bk8

There are five little videos of it on You Tube:
www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL337BBB21D4AB0F3B

Interesting that Robert Winston straight out states that too much TV for children has been linked with violence and behavioural problems. I've been saying that for years but so many people deny it.

Michael Aspel is not dead, just very old!

semperfidelis

Michael Aspel is not dead, just very old!

Michael Apted made the UP series!

( Your name is my old school’s motto!)

I saw the first one when I was doing my PGCE in the late 70's and have seen most of them. Absolutely fascinating!

Maybe those who want to coukd come together to talk about how they felt snoit making the the programme, how they were chosen and what they thought about Michael Apted.
It woukd be a nice ending, it having started at 7 and ending at 70. A whole lifetime.
It has been an interesting and long running piece of research.

I loved The Family at the time about the Wilkins family.
Does anyone know if that is available anywhere to watch again. It would be fascinating. I have no idea how many episodes there were.