I’ve heard it all: too fat, too short, no talent. Those are the things that cut me deep when I was younger, but now they drive me.
What is the worst thing anyone has said to you?
Question
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Values & belief
Question
When were you happiest?
Time & hindsight
Question
What would you like to be remembered for?
Death & what remains
Question
What happens when we die?
Death & what remains
Question
How close have you come to death?
Death & what remains
Question
Which moment embarrassed you most?
Failure & regret
Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
A fixed Guardian Q&A prompt asked directly across respondents and years.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
Why is your nose so wonky?
The Q&A, The Guardian, 24 January 2026 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 124 →Another actress once said to me, “I’ve told you huge lies to make you feel good about yourself.” I’m not going to say who.
Rose Ayling-Ellis
British actress
“I’ll tell you later.” They never do.
It happened when I was younger, somewhere outside London. We were on bikes, and this older girl pulled up and said something racist that I won’t repeat. I will never forget that, because it was the first time, and I was like, “Oh, I am feeling different from everyone around me right now”.
More from Bear Grylls
View profile →Caring too much about what others think.
When it’s just us as a family on our island hideaway in Wales.
He knew where life was to be found.
We finally get to be with Jesus, face to face.
Where do I begin? There have been a lot.
Holding the hand of some random lady at an airport who I mistook for my wife, Shara.
More on failure & regret
- What has been your biggest disappointment? 368 answers
- Who most deserves an apology from you, and why? 209 answers
- If you could edit your past, what would you change? 205 answers
- Which moment embarrassed you most? 124 answers
- How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success? Do you have a favourite failure? 74 answers
- What is the hardest thing that has happened to you, and what did you carry out of it? 38 answers
Also answered this
Alex Lawther, Erin O'Connor, Charles Dance, PP Arnold, Jon Snow, Adam Lambert
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- All failure & regret questions
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