Documentary participant Nick Hitchon appeared in a poignant final interview filmed three days before his death as ITV series 70 Up concluded on Tuesday night.
The groundbreaking documentary series, which first aired as Seven Up! in 1964, caught up with its original participants at age 70 for its final episode, leaving viewers in tears after 62 years on television.
The television milestone was originally intended to end with 63 Up in 2019 following the death of director Michael Apted. However, Hitchon's diagnosis of throat cancer prompted filmmakers to return for one last instalment, with Academy Award-winning director Asif Kapadia taking over at the helm.
Final interview filmed in 2023
In 2023, Hitchon sent producer Claire Lewis what she described as an "almost coded email" indicating he intended to be present for the 70 Up series. Lewis recalled that "reading between the lines of his emails, I realised how extraordinarily ill he was."
Although ITV had not yet commissioned the final series, Lewis persuaded the broadcaster to fly her and a camera crew to visit 65-year-old Hitchon in 2023. Hitchon recorded his final interview during the visit and died just three days after filming completed.
On-screen text displayed during the broadcast confirmed to viewers that Hitchon had passed away in 2023. His final interview was shown in full during the second part of the 70 Up finale, alongside archive clips from 63 Up where he first reflected publicly on his health.
Battle with throat cancer
In clips shown from 63 Up filmed in 2019, Hitchon revealed his diagnosis on camera. "Well as you can see I have lost 60 Ib in the last year, I am seriously ill. I have a cancer in my throat, and I don't know what the prognosis is, I don't know what's going to happen," he told the production team.
"So I'm not really focused on the long-term future, I'm focused on the fairly short-term future. I'm just keeping going and not asking too many questions about the long-term," Hitchon added at the time.
By the time 70 Up was filmed, Hitchon shared details of further medical complications. "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," he said.
"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," Hitchon recounted.
Hitchon admitted he was "exhausted" after months of hospital visits and expressed feeling "awful" that family members had to "pick up all the slack." While he tried not to dwell on his illness, he admitted to feeling scared when attending scans due to fears over what medical staff might discover.
Life from the Yorkshire Dales to academia
Reflecting on his character and background, Hitchon attributed his resilience to his upbringing in northern England. "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," he said.
"For various reasons, I've just kept pushing through and trying to do things. The film has helped with that," Hitchon noted.
The son of a Yorkshire farmer, Hitchon grew up in the rural Yorkshire Dales before studying at the University of Oxford. In the early 1980s, he relocated to the United States, where he built a career as a nuclear fusion expert and university professor in the state of Wisconsin.
Hitchon married his Oxford university girlfriend Jacqui, with whom he had a son. Reflecting on fatherhood, he shared that "the moment of pure, unadulterated joy in my life was when my son was handed to me when he was born." Following a divorce at age 42, he later remarried his second wife, Cryss.
Hitchon spoke warmly of his six-decade involvement with the documentary series. "To me, this is tremendously important. In my life, there's always been another episode of this coming up. It's kind of exciting," he said in his final interview.
"So I'll miss it, when [the camera crew] pack up and leave, and I'm fairly sure we're not going to do this again, I think I'll feel there's a hole in things that I haven't experienced since I was six. It's been with me since I was six," Hitchon added.
Tributes from family and viewers
Hitchon's brother, Andrew Hitchon, wrote an article for the Telegraph newspaper explaining how determined his late sibling had been to record one last interview for the show. "Nick was a determined character, and it seems likely to me that he wanted to finish what he had started," Andrew wrote.
"I hope that 70 Up will bring [the cast] proper closure and allow them to let go of a phenomenon they have coexisted with for more than six decades. Most of all, I hope filming that last interview did the same for Nick," Andrew added.
Viewers posted messages on social media platform X to express their admiration for Hitchon and mourn the end of the long-running television landmark. One viewer described 70 Up as "A truly extraordinary series never to be repeated; I have long said it's the greatest show in the history of TV. I wonder if that should extend to all television."
Another viewer highlighted the loss of past participants, writing: "A completely one-off incredible series where we got a glimpse into their lives for 63 years. Rest in peace Lynn, Michael and Nick," before adding, "Wishing the rest of them all the best for the future."
Many viewers found watching Hitchon's final appearance deeply moving. One user posted: "Seeing Nick is a very hard and sad watch. Life can be so f*****g cruel." Another wrote: "Truly a life well-lived, with courage and positivity. I felt the need to give Nick a round of applause. I didn't know him, but I won't forget him."
Reflecting on the emotional farewell, a commenter wrote: "Well that was a moving end to an incredible series. Very emotional to say goodbye to them all," while another added: "A fantastic programme, so sad it's ended. What an amazing thing to be able to look back on your life."
Viewers fighting back tears shared their immediate reactions during the broadcast. "Kleenex at the ready for the final 10 mins? Nick," wrote one viewer, as another stated: "I'm bawling already knowing Nick is no longer with us." A fellow viewer added: "This section with Nick is hard, and I think we all know that he's no longer with us. God bless him. I am currently in remission, and Nick is right. Focus shifts to the short term. What can we - all of us - do with the time we have left? Not waste it, would be a start."
Summing up the mood of the audience, another fan wrote: "All of it is making me very emotional. In the blink of an eye, hopes and aspirations are just distant memories and time has run out. Life is over so very quickly. Too quickly."
