The generous spirit at the heart of the Up television series

Michael Apted, left, filming 28 Up in 1984. Photograph: ITV/Rex/Shutterstock

I was moved by the obituary of Nick Hitchon (Other lives, 27 August), whose life we all had the privilege of tracking through the wonderful Up series. It was brilliant of the late Michael Apted and his colleagues to make these documentary films, but it was very brave and generous-spirited of the people such as Nick who allowed their privacy to be invaded, to be used as case studies.

As a university teacher, I encouraged my students to watch the programmes and used them in teaching. They illustrated so clearly the significance of early experience and access to opportunity – more vividly than textbooks and larger, more scientifically rigorous but less revealing surveys and analyses.