As the series grew in popularity, Apted started receiving push-back from some of the participants, who felt they had been typecast based on their backgrounds.
At 21, Apted asked Jackie – who had recently got married – whether she had met “enough men” before she decided to marry. For the rest of the interview, she mostly looked to the floor while Sue and Lynn answered questions.
It took her 18 years to fully confront Apted over his questioning.
In 49 Up, she told him: “I was really angry… you wouldn’t have asked some of the other people in this program that question. You will edit this program as you see fit, I’ve got no control over that.”
Recalling the tense exchange, Jackie said she felt Apted could be out of touch, particularly over the changing roles of women in society.
“I think he still thought we were all in the kitchen, as I mentioned to him at 21. I just thought, ‘No, come on, it’s about time one of us called you out on it, because he never never asked us questions about politics. It was nearly always domestic,” she said.