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.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 13 July 2024 source ↗
I don’t think anyone should deplore anything about themselves. You can always improve things, but by deploring you’re putting yourself on a losing streak.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 15 April 2023 source ↗
Too high an expectation of others and myself.
Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 8 November 2025 source ↗
My ability to make everything about me.
Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, October 2017 source ↗
I can’t cook. I use my smoke alarm as a timer.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 22 June 2024 source ↗
The Fake Sheikh did a sting on me once and the News of the World headline was “Craig Charles is an evil drug-pushing monster”. That wasn’t good on the school run, I’ll tell you that.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 13 July 2024 source ↗
Selfishness and cruelty.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 13 July 2024 source ↗
I was born in 1964, in the most working-class area of Liverpool, so the N-word was bandied around a lot.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 13 July 2024 source ↗
Filming a TV show in a field in the snow in February in the Dublin hills for 14 hours; the director said, “We’re not going to get that shot today.”
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 13 July 2024 source ↗
A Rolls-Royce. I met my wife, Jackie, when I was filming a Lynda La Plante drama called The Governor. I fell in love with her instantly and I was bullshitting that I had a Rolls-Royce. When I finished filming, she decided to leave her country and come and live with me in London. On the way to the airport, I phoned my PA and said, “Go and buy a Rolls-Royce.”
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 13 July 2024 source ↗
To my parents for all the mess-ups. There have been times when I’ve been going through something and I’ve thought, God, I’m so glad my mum and dad are dead, because they don’t have to go through it with me.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 13 July 2024 source ↗
Adam Kay, Adam Lambert, Adele Parks, Adrian Dunbar, Al Franken, Alex Hassell
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