Terence Conran
British restaurateur and designer
Merging my company with BHS – it was a great mistake.
What has been your biggest disappointment?
Question
What is the most important lesson life has taught you?
Time & hindsight
Question
What is the worst thing anyone has said to you?
Failure & regret
Question
Which moment embarrassed you most?
Failure & regret
Question
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Values & belief
Question
How would you describe yourself in three words?
Identity & self
Question
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Craft & work
Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
This exact question recurs in The Guardian's institutional Q&A pool.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
I assumed that once I reached some level of achievement, I would feel fixed.
The Q&A, The Guardian, 7 March 2026 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 366 →
Samuel L Jackson
American actor
Finding out that life's not fair.
Kate Mosse
English writer
Not working in another country.
The Mona Lisa – I preferred the frame.
More from Fearne Cotton
View profile →The more you face shame and stare it in the eyes and talk about it, the less potent it is.
People have said, “I wish you would die.” That’s the stark truth of being in the public eye – people dehumanise you and say ghastly things.
On radio, I once said “anal” instead of “angel”.
Superiority. I shrink when I’m around people who act superior, whether it’s due to authority or intellect. I almost become mute.
Eager to learn.
Picking myself back up after very tricky times and trying again.
More on failure & regret
- Who most deserves an apology from you, and why? 209 answers
- If you could edit your past, what would you change? 203 answers
- What is the worst thing anyone has said to you? 122 answers
- Which moment embarrassed you most? 122 answers
- How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success? Do you have a favourite failure? 69 answers
- What is the hardest thing that has happened to you, and what did you carry out of it? 36 answers
Also answered this
Grace Coddington, Judy Murray, Bryan Cranston, Abigail Breslin, Donna Tartt, Christopher Eccleston
Search the directory for somebody in particular.
Explore further
- All failure & regret questions
- The The Q&A questionnaire — 25 questions from the same format
- Explore the archive — by field, age, era, and subject