Asif Kapadia will direct the final instalment of the long-running ITV documentary series Up, titled 70 Up, which is set to air this year. The series, which began in 1964, has followed a group of people from childhood to adulthood at seven-year intervals, and this concluding chapter will check in on them as they approach old age.
Kapadia, known for documentaries about Amy Winehouse, Ayrton Senna and Diego Maradona, takes over from the late Michael Apted, who died in 2021. Kapadia described the appointment as an 'incredible honour and privilege', calling the series his favourite of all time and 'the ultimate portrait of human life'.
Jo Clinton-Davis, ITV's controller of factual, described the series as a landmark piece of film-making that has become part of the cultural fabric. She said Kapadia will bring passion and creativity while safeguarding the Up legacy, and that the final instalment is a tribute to the courage of all the cast members who continue to share their lives.
The programme was initially a one-off snapshot of the British class system, created by Tim Hewat and based on the Jesuit saying 'Give me the child until he is seven and I will show you the man'. Apted served as a researcher for the original 40-minute film, selecting 14 seven-year-olds from across the class spectrum. Participants included Neil Hughes from Liverpool, who wanted to be an astronaut and later became a lay preacher and Liberal Democrat councillor after struggling with depression and homelessness.
Remarkably, only one participant, Charles Furneaux, asked to end the experiment early, while two have died: Lynn Johnson in 2013 and Nick Hitchon in 2023. In 2024, Up topped a list of the most influential UK TV shows of the last 50 years, compiled by the Broadcasting Press Guild.
Apted had said in 2012 that he would continue the series as long as he was 'above ground', and that someone else might take over if he wasn't. His prediction has come true, with Kapadia now concluding the story. All previous episodes are streaming on ITVX in the UK.
