I very often set my heart on things – and if they don’t happen, I’m not great at dealing with disappointment.
Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 20 April 2024 source ↗
Which trait do you most dislike in yourself?
Question
What does love feel like?
Relationships
Question
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Values & belief
Question
When were you happiest?
Time & hindsight
Question
What is the worst job you have done?
Craft & work
Question
If you could edit your past, what would you change?
Failure & regret
Question
What has been your biggest disappointment?
Failure & regret
Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
The Guardian's The Q&A has retained this Proust-derived prompt from at least 2007 through 2026, and ABC independently put it to the Obamas in 2011.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
Self-destruction.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 3 June 2023 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 242 →
Alison Steadman
British actress
I repeat stories (like my mum used to).
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 17 January 2009 source ↗
David Hasselhoff
American actor, singer, and television personality
Holding a grudge.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 11 April 2009 source ↗
Angela Hartnett
English chef
Procrastination.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 13 August 2022 source ↗
More from Adam Kay
View profile →When my cold toes drain the heat from his warm ones, but he doesn’t mind at all and is happy for our tarsal temperatures to meet in the middle.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 3 June 2023 source ↗
People who barge into a lift instead of standing aside for anyone exiting should be dipped in kerosene and fired into the sun.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 3 June 2023 source ↗
In the one photo I’ve seen where my smile looks convincing – I’m four years old, so I’m guessing then. But I just won a Bafta and that felt amazing, too. So, roughly every 40 years.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 3 June 2023 source ↗
A comedy gig at an army barracks for thousands of angry, horny squaddies just back from six months in the desert. I was on straight after the stripper.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 3 June 2023 source ↗
I could have done without being sexually assaulted, or having an eating disorder, or pushing myself to breaking point, but every chapter of my life brought me here.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 3 June 2023 source ↗
I’ve never been upgraded on a plane.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 3 June 2023 source ↗
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