Jo Clinton-Davis says Up Series ends with 70 Up in 2026
The up series will end with 70 Up on ITV later in 2026, closing a 62-year run that began with 7 Up in 1964. For the broadcaster, the final film turns a long-running factual project into a clean ending rather than another seven-year return.
Jo Clinton-Davis, ITV’s controller of factual and commissioner of 70 Up, said: “The 7 Up story is much more than a TV documentary, it’s a document of our times.” That framing fits a project that has returned to the same people every seven years since they were seven years old, and now reaches its last chapter after tracking them from childhood into later life.
1964 to 2026
The series began in 1964 with 7 Up, following ten boys and four girls in England. Granada Television has produced the films for ITV, and ITV has aired all of them except 42 Up, which was broadcast on One. The new film, directed by Asif Kpadia, gives the network a final installment after a broadcast history that stretches across generations of scheduling decisions.
Paul Almond directed the first film, and Michael Apted took over the series afterward. Apted died at the age of 79 in 2021, which leaves 70 Up carrying a different kind of weight: it is not only the last film in the cycle, but also the first without the director who shaped most of its identity.
Tony, Neil and Sue
Tony will appear after once wanting to be a jockey and later becoming a London cab driver. Neil, who once dreamed of being an astronaut, is also back for the final film. Sue will talk about marrying Glenn and decades working at Queen Mary University of London, while Peter has more music news.
“Sue will talk about marrying Glenn and decades working at Queen Mary University of London, while Peter has more music news.” ITV’s tease also says: “KC John who wanted a powerful career and lawyer Andrew, the prep school boy who famously read the FT, return.”
Lynn, Nick and Charles
The final film will also remember the late Lynn, part of the trio of friends, and include an interview with the late Nick, the farmer’s son who fulfilled his dream to become a nuclear physicist. Charles, who left the programme at 21, is part of the broader story that has always been about who stayed, who left and how life diverged from childhood plans.
For viewers, the practical takeaway is simple: 70 Up is the ending, not another pause. After 62 years, ITV is turning one of its most durable factual brands into a final record of what happened to the original participants, and that makes the 2026 broadcast less like a reunion than a conclusion.
