More than six decades ago, a little boy named Paul Kligerman appeared on British television and captured viewers’ attention with the kind of simple honesty only a child can deliver.

When asked about his likes and dislikes in the original 7 Up!, Paul famously made his feelings about vegetables clear.

“I don’t like greens.”

It was a tiny moment from a television programme that would eventually become one of the most remarkable social documentaries ever made.

But 60 years later, the boy who once complained about vegetables has become a husband, father and grandfather reflecting on a very different kind of legacy.

In 70 Up, Paul looks back on the life he built with his wife, Sue, surrounded by their children and grandchildren.

And his message is strikingly simple.

“You need a good family.”

From a Child on 7 Up to a Man Looking Back

Paul was one of the 14 children selected for the original 7 Up! documentary in 1964.

The programme set out to examine the lives of children from different social and economic backgrounds across Britain.

The premise was inspired by the idea that a person’s future might be shaped by their childhood circumstances.

Every seven years, the cameras returned.

The children became teenagers.

Then young adults.

Then parents.

Then grandparents.

Paul’s life became one small part of an extraordinary six-decade record of social change.

But unlike a traditional biography, his story was told in fragments.

The audience would see him again every seven years, often discovering how much had changed since the previous meeting.

The Little Boy Who Said What He Thought

Paul’s early appearance has remained memorable partly because of its simplicity.

As a child, he was not trying to create a television moment.

He was simply answering questions honestly.

His declaration that he did not like greens became one of those tiny pieces of the original 7 Up! footage that stayed with viewers.

But there was far more to his story than a childhood joke.

Paul grew up in difficult circumstances.

The world he experienced as a child would eventually shape his understanding of family, relationships and the kind of life he wanted to build for himself.

Decades later, those experiences gave his reflections in 70 Up an entirely different meaning.

A Difficult Childhood

Paul has spoken about aspects of his childhood that were far from easy.

The Up series followed participants from dramatically different backgrounds, and Paul was among those whose early life presented challenges that would stay with him.

As he grew older, however, he began creating something that had not necessarily been guaranteed by his childhood circumstances.

A family of his own.

His wife Sue became his partner through adulthood, and together they raised children who eventually gave them grandchildren.

By the time of 70 Up, Paul was no longer simply talking about the life he had been given.

He was reflecting on the life he had created.

“You Need a Good Family”

One of the most powerful moments of Paul’s final appearance comes when he reflects on the importance of family.

“You need a good family,” he says.

It is a remarkably straightforward statement.

But coming from someone whose own childhood was difficult, the words carry considerable weight.

Paul’s definition of a successful life does not revolve around wealth, fame or professional achievement.

Instead, he focuses on the people around him.

His wife.

His children.

His grandchildren.

The relationships that remained after everything else had changed.

Surrounded by the People He Built His Life With

The contrast between the young Paul and the man seen in 70 Up is extraordinary.

The original programme introduced viewers to a child.

The final chapter shows an older man surrounded by generations of his family.

Sue is beside him.

Their children are part of his life.

Their grandchildren represent another generation.

The cameras that once followed Paul’s childhood are now recording the family that came afterward.

In that sense, his final appearance becomes more than an update.

It becomes a visual representation of the passage of time.

The child who once sat answering questions has become the oldest generation in a family of his own.

His Advice Is Surprisingly Simple

Paul’s reflections in 70 Up are not complicated.

He does not offer a grand theory about life.

Instead, he speaks about kindness, forgiveness and honesty.

He encourages people to be kind.

He says people should forgive others for their failings.

And he advises people to “live the best, honest life you can.”

Those words feel particularly meaningful because they come after a lifetime of experience.

At 70, Paul is no longer speculating about what life might become.

He is looking back at what it actually became.

Forgiveness Becomes Part of His Legacy

The emphasis on forgiveness is especially striking.

Paul’s message suggests that relationships cannot survive if people expect perfection from one another.

Families have disagreements.

People make mistakes.

Partners disappoint each other.

Children grow up and make their own decisions.

Friends change.

Forgiveness becomes necessary if relationships are going to endure.

After six decades of being filmed, Paul has seen enough of life to understand that people are complicated.

His advice is therefore not about finding perfect people.

It is about learning to live with imperfect ones.

The Meaning of the Up Series Changed Over Time

When Paul first appeared in 7 Up!, the filmmakers were interested in predicting the future.

The children were selected partly to explore how social class and circumstances might influence their lives.

But as the decades passed, the project became something different.

It became a record of unpredictability.

The participants did not simply follow the paths that might have been expected for them.

Some changed careers.

Some moved abroad.

Some married.

Some divorced.

Some became parents.

Some experienced illness and loss.

Their lives repeatedly demonstrated that childhood circumstances do not provide a complete blueprint for adulthood.

Paul’s story is part of that larger lesson.

A Family Became His Greatest Achievement

For Paul, the most meaningful achievement appears to be the family surrounding him.

The programme does not need to tell viewers that explicitly.

They can see it.

A wife who has remained beside him.

Children who have grown into adults.

Grandchildren who represent the future.

The family photograph that could never have existed when Paul was seven is now the central image of his final chapter.

That is perhaps the most moving transformation in his story.

The boy being filmed in the 1960s could not have known exactly what his life would become.

But he eventually built the family he now describes as essential.

Six Decades of Watching Someone Grow

There is something uniquely powerful about watching Paul across the entire Up series.

Most people only know their loved ones through personal memories.

The audience knows Paul differently.

They have seen him as a child.

They have seen him become a teenager.

They have watched him grow into adulthood.

And now they see him at 70.

The passage of time is impossible to hide.

His face changes.

His circumstances change.

The people around him change.

But certain qualities remain.

The honesty that made the little boy memorable is still visible in the older man.

The Final Chapter Is Not Really About Saying Goodbye

Although 70 Up represents the conclusion of an extraordinary television experiment, Paul’s story does not feel entirely like an ending.

His children and grandchildren are there.

That makes the final chapter feel more like a continuation.

Paul’s life is no longer only his own story.

It has become part of the stories of the generations that came after him.

The values he describes — kindness, forgiveness and honesty — are things that can be passed from one generation to another.

In that sense, his final message extends beyond the programme.

From “I Don’t Like Greens” to a Lesson About Life

It is almost impossible to imagine a more striking contrast.

The little boy who once delivered the simple declaration “I don’t like greens” eventually became a 70-year-old grandfather offering advice about how to live.

The humour of the original moment remains.

But the final message carries something much deeper.

Paul has had seven decades to discover what matters to him.

His answer is not fame.

It is not success measured by possessions.

It is family.

Kindness.

Forgiveness.

And honesty.

A Life Measured in Relationships

The Up series has always been fascinated by the passage of time.

Paul’s final appearance demonstrates why the concept has remained so powerful for more than 60 years.

The programme began by asking where these children might end up.

Six decades later, perhaps the more important question is what they learned along the way.

For Paul, the answer appears to be beautifully uncomplicated.

People matter.

Families matter.

Mistakes happen.

Forgiveness matters.

And the best thing a person can do is try to live honestly and kindly.

The Boy Is Still There Somewhere

When viewers look at Paul in 70 Up, it is possible to remember the child from the original series.

The face is older.

The life is completely different.

But the connection remains.

The same person who once sat in front of a camera as a child is now reflecting on everything that happened afterward.

His story shows what the Up series has always done best.

It makes time visible.

It allows viewers to see not only how people change, but what remains.

Paul Kligerman’s final chapter is therefore not simply about turning 70.

It is about looking back at a difficult childhood and recognizing the family and relationships that came afterward.

And perhaps his most lasting message is the simplest one of all:

Be kind. Forgive people for their failings. And live the best, honest life you can.

More than 60 years after a little boy complained about greens on television, Paul has left viewers with something far more lasting than a childhood quote.

He has left them a lesson about what he believes makes a life worthwhile.

Source:
ITV – https://www.itv.com/watch/7-up-series/70-up
The Guardian – https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/sep/07/seminal-series-ends-six-decades-70-up