The final instalment of Britain's landmark documentary series, 70 Up, aired last night, bringing an emotional close to a project that has followed its participants' lives every seven years since 1964. Viewers took to social media to describe being reduced to tears within minutes of the broadcast, reflecting on how deeply the series' 62-year journey has resonated with the public.

The episode featured the original participants, now aged 70, including Neil Hughes, whose turbulent life took him from homelessness to now living in France, and the late Nick Hitchon, who was filmed just three days before his death from throat cancer in 2023. Michael Apted directed the series from 1970 until his death in 2021, with Asif Kapadia taking over for the finale. Across ten films, participants such as Jackie Bassett, Sue Davis, John Brisby and Symon Basterfield revisited marriages, careers, health struggles and personal reinventions, offering a uniquely candid record of British life across generations.