The participants' opinions regarding being involved in the series are often mentioned, and varied greatly among the participants. John refers to the programme as a poison pill that he is subjected to every seven years, while Paul's wife credits the series for keeping their marriage together. Michael Apted has commented that one of the big surprises between filming "42 Up" and "49 Up" was the impact of reality television—i.e., that the subjects wanted to talk about their contribution to the series in the light of this genre.