Viewers who tuned into the finale of television’s longest-running documentary series 70 Up were left moved by participant Neil Hughes, who shared several emotional reflections about his life.
Mr Hughes had featured in every episode of the history-making programme, which was first broadcast in 1964.
The ITV series explored the lives of 14 people from various backgrounds, catching up with them every seven years.
In the latest and final instalment of the programme, Mr Hughes, 70, opened up about his decades-long mental health struggles and his experience with loneliness.
Neil Hughes shared some candid reflections
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ITV
His story stood out for viewers as one of the most emotional, with fans taking to social media to explain that his musings had left them in tears.
When the series began 63 years ago, My Hughes shared his dream of becoming an astronaut, but as the years passed by, he began to experience an ongoing ordeal with his mental health.
He dropped out of university and struggled to hold down employment due to his suffering.
In 28 Up, My Hughes was homeless. At 35 in the next series, he was living in a council house and by 63 Up, he’d briefly been married, with the relationship having come to an end.
During the latest programme, which aired on Tuesday, Mr Hughes looked back at his experiences.
He told cameras: “At age seven and 14, everybody wants to speak to you and now nobody wants to speak to me.”
The 70-year-old, who now resides in France, added that he spends most of the day volunteering at a local bookshop and going to church.
ITV 70 Up viewers ‘in tears’ as star of documentary reflects on mental health battles
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ITV
On his short marriage, he continued: “It very suddenly ended and I was at a bit of a loss to understand that.”
He went on to say he believes the breakdown of the marriage was likely due to “years of living on my own.”
“I’d become, without realising it, much more selfish than I would have wanted to be,” he admitted.
He went on: “I’m not very good with others, and even the friends who have remained, they’ve remained friends because I don’t see them everyday of the week.
“They’re people I can turn to, but I’m not the sort of person who goes around in groups with others.”
Neil Hughes has featured in every episode on the 63-year series
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ITV
The documentary showed an archived clip on Mr Hughes at 28, in which he shared with the programme: “I have always had a nervous complaint, I’ve had it since I was 16 and it was responsible for my leaving university and for some of my difficulties with work.”
He deemed the condition was “basically depression.”
“It has side effects because when I’m trying to pretend as if I’m not depressed this is when my behaviour can become erratic,” he noted.
“It’s trying to act a role which is impossible that can make the situation worse.”
Sharing how he has tried to avoid making the situaiton worse for himself, he added: “I’ve come across people who have had similar problems and become total reclusives, and in the end it doesn’t help them.
“If someone has a mental health problem, it doesn’t mean they’re odd. It doesn’t mean they’ve chosen to be weird or anti-social, it’s just part, as much as a person’s sexuality, it’s not something they choose, it’s what they are.
“Can we get to be in a society that recognises this?”
However, he concluded on a more positive note, stating: “I’m probably as happy as I could be, given my life.
“A great deal more could have gone wrong than has done. I am still quite lonely at times but this is a common characteristic of our age.
“I don’t suppose there’s anybody who can really say, ‘I’m happy.’ They must be deluding themselves when they say that.”
He completed his reflections by quoting poet Edith Sitwell, stating he’d “like to be able to say when I go out, ‘It’s all been rather good really hasn’t it?'”
Viewers were quick to express how the conversation with Mr Hughes had moved them, with one writing on X: “Anyone else fighting the urge to go to France to look after Neil? Such a lovely, articulate man #70UP.”
“Neil makes me cry. I see the 7 yr old every time I look at him and I just want to give him a massive hug #70Up,” a second shared.
A third recalled: “Neil has held a place in our hearts ever since we saw his beautiful little face in #7Up. His innocence, his ambitions, his insight into adult life. The nation utterly adored him. Then we saw his struggles in life through his 20s & beyond & each update we’ve rooted for him. #70UP.”
“I like Neil – he’s quoted in the program that no body now wants to talk to him, but I’d talk to him, I find his life fascinating, his mental strength & he appears quite intelligent too – such a varied life he’s led #70up,” another observed.
A fifth suggested: “There is a film to be made about the life, times, challenges & journey of Neil. #70up #7up @ITV @BBC@netflix.”
One more penned: “Just watched the second episode of #70up The interviews with Neil and especially Nick had me in tears. Nice little tribute to Michael Apted at the end. Was a perfect ending to a landmark series.”
The programme also shared the sad revelation that participant Nick Hitchon had featured on the show just three days before he died of cancer in 2023.
The series was supposed to end in 2019 with 63 Up following the death of director Michael Apted, but Mr Hitchon’s diagnoses led to producers continuing the series for one more programme.
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