Sunday mornings with my parents when I visited from college.
When were you happiest?
Question
Which living person do you most admire, and why?
Values & belief
Question
If you could edit your past, what would you change?
Failure & regret
Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
Asked in 52 of the 131 consecutive instalments of The Guardian's The Q&A harvested on 2026-08-29.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
On Curracloe beach with my family in Wexford, circa 1980, after a swim.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 6 September 2014 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 583 →
Hilary Swank
Actor
Being happy is not a constant. But I am very happy when I am spending time with my family and my friends, and going on hikes with my dogs.
David Gandy
British model
This morning, when I found a £20 note in a coat I hadn’t worn for a while.
Tom Daley
English diver
Winning the world championships.
More from Dermot O'Leary
View profile →My parents for the roots; my old parish priest, Father Arthur Barrow, for the fire and the reason; Richard Curtis for the drive and humanity; and, for living in the public eye with principles, George Clooney.
I had my heart broken a lot in my teens, but I'm not sure I'd change it.
More on time & hindsight
- What is the most important lesson life has taught you? 146 answers
- What advice would you give your twenty-year-old self, and what should they ignore? 89 answers
- What scares you about getting older? 68 answers
- What is the best advice you have ever received? 35 answers
- If you could have a gigantic billboard anywhere, what would it say and why? 25 answers
- What is something you were told by a parent, teacher, or mentor that you still repeat to yourself? 25 answers
Also answered this
Kerry Godliman, Melanie Blatt, Nicola Adams, Ted Danson, Joely Richardson, Warwick Davis
Search the directory for somebody in particular.
Explore further
- All time & hindsight questions
- The The Q&A questionnaire — 25 questions from the same format
- Explore the archive — by field, age, era, and subject