The incredible stories of the Seven Up! cast: What became of the children we met six decades ago - as deeply moving series finally comes to an end

The deeply moving part-two grand finale of 70 Up left viewers in tears as the decades-long series concluded on Tuesday night.

The extraordinary ITV documentary explored the lives of 14 people from disparate class backgrounds every seven years, from childhood up until the age of 70.

Viewers bid farewell to the lifelong social study, 62 years after the first episode of the series appeared on television screens in 1964.

The final entry in the series, 70 Up, brought fans to tears just minutes into the episode, with some lauding the 'truly extraordinary' finale for bringing the story of its participants full circle.

Intended as an examination of the British class system, the children were chosen from a cross-section of society. 

There were three girls and a boy from London's East End, a girl from a wealthier part of London, two boys from a children's home, four public schoolboys, a Yorkshire farmer's son and two boys from a middle-class Liverpool suburb.

Most appeared every seven years, but some have missed episodes, dropped out or been unhappy with their portrayal. 

Here's how the lives and fates of the cast of the groundbreaking series have varied.

Bruce Balden 

When seven-year-old Bruce Balden was first interviewed for the documentary in 1964, he said that his dream was to see his father – a soldier posted in southern Africa. 

Bruce was at boarding school when he was chosen, and he became a teacher. 

More than six decades later and now aged 70, Bruce revealed how he is making the most of his retired life by singing in a choir and volunteering for the RNLI. 

He said: 'I start each day walking the dogs on the beach and then I do choir in the evening. On a Wednesday, I tend to go to the lifeboat house to do some training.

'I feel lucky. I'm enjoying life probably more than I have ever done. I think what you want to do is live a good life and whatever helps you do that.'

'I do see myself in that seven-year-old,' he added. 'I don't know whether some aspects of my character are immutable or I've changed. 

'But I see a rather lost soul. I want to reassure him that it will be a ride, but life is going to be all right.'

Bruce just wanted to see his father, a soldier in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). Now he reads a poem in which his dad explains his feelings for his son. 'He missed me as much as I missed him. If I'd known, I'd have made more of an effort to make up for lost time.'

'Some reality TV now is very contrived,' he says. 'We had none of that. It was just, 'Tell us what you're doing, where you're at, what you're interested in.'

'I've been asked if being on the programme has affected my choices, and I can't say it has. I've no regrets. I take pride in being part of what's turned out to be a social document about Britain.'

Jackie Bassett 

East End girl Jackie was picked because 'I wouldn't stop talking. In our house, if you didn't speak up you didn't get heard. I don't think I've changed.' 

She married at 19, divorced, remarried, moved to Scotland, had three kids, divorced again and was a single mother.

'Things could have been better, but things could have been a lot worse,' she said previously.

'There are points in my life that I would rather not have happened. The only thing I do wish is that I'd gone on to do more education.'

Jackie went on to have three sons, and moved to Essex, then Glasgow, before now retiring to the Norfolk coast. 

'It's quiet. I love it,' she said of her current home. 

Lynn Johnson

Her fellow East Ender Lynn died in 2013 at the age of 57 following a battle with a brain condition.

She appeared in the social experiment from the very beginning in 1964 and became close friends with Sue and Jackie. 

During her adult life, she worked as a librarian in east London. 

She was the first of the main participants from the documentary series to pass away, and she has been fondly remembered and honoured by her co-stars and the filmmakers in subsequent instalments, including the final chapter, 70 Up.

Neil Hughes 

Neil Hughes, who has perhaps led the most chaotic life of the original 14 participants, began sharing his life on the series aged just seven.

He was homeless for 28 Up, in a council house by 35 Up and had a brief marriage that had ended by 63 Up. He thinks he's probably always suffered from depression.

But for 70 Up, Neil revealed that he now lives in France, in the same house that he came to for many years on holiday.

He said while he may appear to be a hoarder, everything in the property 'has a purpose'.

Neil also revealed that he is planning on retiring but is questioning where the money will come from.

'Neil, he must be protected,' one person posted on X. 'Neil is such an intelligent man who just lost his way. Very sad,' another added.

John Brisby 

Public schoolboy and lawyer John Brisby became a prominent barrister and judge, specialising in commercial law and fraud.

He famously grew critical of how the series framed him, stating in 35 Up that the show felt like a 'poison pill'.

He also criticised director Michael Apted for casting him as a privileged 'token toff' while ignoring his immigrant roots and extensive charitable work.

Nick Hitchon

Viewers were left in tears after 70 Up showed footage from Nick Hitchon's life ahead of his final interview filmed just days before his death. 

The programme was actually meant to conclude with 63 Up in 2019, following the death of director Michael Apted, but it was participant Nick's devastating throat cancer diagnosis which prompted the filmmakers to return – this time with Academy Award-winning director Asif Kapadia at the helm. 

In 2023, Nick sent producer Claire Lewis an 'almost coded email' telling her that he intended to be here for the 70 Up series, but Claire said 'reading between the lines of his emails, I realised how extraordinarily ill he was'.

While the final series hadn't yet been commissioned, Claire persuaded ITV to fly her and a camera crew out to visit 65-year-old Nick in 2023, where he recorded a final interview. Nick died three days after filming. 

He shared: 'I had a stroke last Autumn, and apparently they asked Cryss [Nick's wife] numerous times if they should just let me die. I had no idea that I was going to be this ill, and I had no idea I was going to keep living.

'But yes, it's a surprise to my doctors that I'm still around. Curious really, it's like, one of them was saying, 'It does happen that people in your condition survive,' but made it clear that he didn't expect it.'

Nick admitted he was 'exhausted' after enduring months of hospital visits, and said he felt 'awful' that his family members had to 'pick up all the slack'.

He added that though he doesn't think about the illness he faced, he was scared of going to his scans for fear of what the medics may discover.

Reflecting on his life, Nick then added: 'I've had this life-long process of jumping in with both feet into things that were intimidating and that I could easily have said, "I can't do this," in the Dales you just push through and push through and push through.

'For various reasons, I've just kept pushing through and trying to do things. The film has helped with that.'

The son of a Yorkshire farmer, Nick went on to study at the University of Oxford before moving to the US in the early 80s where he worked as a nuclear fusion expert and university professor in Wisconsin. 

He married his Oxford university girlfriend Jacqui and went on to welcome a son before his divorce at the age of 42, telling the documentary that 'the moment of pure, unadulerated joy in my life was when my son was handed to me when he was born'.

Charles Furneaux 

Charles dropped out of the show after 21 Up following an off-camera argument with Apted.

He went onto work at the BBC before becoming commissioning editor at Channel 4.

While he doesn't appear in 70 Up in person, he provides a voiceover to pictures provided by himself. 

Sue Fitzgerald

Sue Fitzgerald continues to look younger than ever as she graced screens on the last ever episode of 70 Up.

After leaving school, Sue spent 20 years working at Queen Mary University of London as an administrator for its law courses.

Sue, who now lives in Essex, told Saga magazine that she sometimes 'feels a bit lost' with her free time after retiring.

'A lot of the past seven years, since the last TV programme, was taken up with looking after my parents,' she said.

'My mum was bedridden for quite some time and I was dealing with care systems and things like that. It's something that people of our generation are dealing with.'

Paul Kligerman 

Paul Kligerman captured the hearts of the nation aged seven when he was asked if he would like to have a wife one day.

The little boy replied: 'Say you had a wife and had to eat what they cooked you. And say I don't like greens, well I don't like greens. 

'And say she said you have to eat what you're given. But I don't like greens.' 

Over the course of the series, Paul emigrated to Australia with his father and brother. He went onto marry his girlfriend Sue.

After relocating to Melbourne, the couple started their family and welcomed two children.

In 70 Up, viewers saw Paul dote on his multiple grandchildren. He and wife Sue are happily married still after four decades together. 

Peter Davies

Peter Davies went onto become a teacher and is now a writer, as well as playing with his folk band, The Good Intentions.

In 28 Up Peter expressed negative views about Margaret Thatcher and left the show.

He returned for the 2012 version 56 Up and managed to secure a record deal with his band after they featured on the show.

Peter continues to work full time as a writer and musician and credits the incredible programme for helping with his music career. 

Tony Walker 

Tony Walker, who is a taxi driver, was once a jockey and actor.

During his final interview, Tony detailed he was heartbreakingly forced to give up his career as a jockey.

Tony and his wife also opened up about the difficulties they have faced in their marriage, noting his 'regretful behaviour'.

His wife said: 'I don’t really know how I’ve got over things with him, to be honest. Sometimes, I don’t feel that I have, to be perfectly honest with you. But I’m still here. What can I say?'

'We are, aren’t we?' Tony replied. 'I’ve always loved you from the moment I met you, despite anything I’ve done, but saying that, I’m here, you’re here, we’re still here after 46 years.'

He added: 'I’ve fulfilled everything I wanted to do, silly as it may seem. I’m at the last nine holes of my life at 70 years old, and very happy in my semi-retirement.'

Suzy Dewey 

Suzy Dewey graced the screens of seven Up as a seven-year-old ballet dancer before she left school aged 16 to live in Paris.

She went onto marry her solicitor husband Rupert and they welcomed two sons and a daughter.

Suzy became a full-time loving mother while her children were growing up and now works as a bereavement counsellor.

The former dancer didn't take part in 63 Up due to feeling 'picked on' because she felt misrepresented with her wealthy background.

Reflecting on her life, Suzy said: 'You get to 70 and we’ve lost friends a lot younger than me from cancer and other things.'

Andrew Brackfield 

Andrew Brackfield became a successful solicitor, married and raised a family all while staying in touch with the show. 

Andrew is the only one of the three Kensington boys who appeared in every single film of the franchise all the way to the end. 

He noted that he stayed with the project because it provides an incredible, unique symmetry spanning over six decades. 

He currently splits his time living in homes in Wimbledon and West Sussex.

Symon Basterfield 

Symon Basterfield grew up in a children's home and was introduced in the series as 'the illegitimate child of a single mother'. He didn't know his father.

His mother died of cancer in 1990, and Symon wishes he'd asked more questions about his dad.

'It’s still in my head now, I should have asked. First, "Who’s my dad? What did he do? Where did he come from?"' he said.

Symon added: 'I can’t remember who told me he was Nigerian, it might have been my mum. But I don’t know that he’s Nigerian. So I know nothing about the man, I never saw him.'

Symon went on to have five children with his first wife Yvonne and a son with his second wife.

The couple trained to become foster parents and have since welcomed over 120 foster children into their home.