Kate Mosse
English writer
First I wanted to be in the circus, then a tap dancer, then prime minister. I have failed at all three.
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
Question
What is the worst thing anyone has said to you?
Failure & regret
Question
What most recently made you cry?
Identity & self
Question
What is the most important lesson life has taught you?
Time & hindsight
Question
What has been your biggest disappointment?
Failure & regret
Question
What is your greatest fear?
Identity & self
Question
Which moment embarrassed you most?
Failure & regret
Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
This is a standing question in The Guardian's decades-long The Q&A and also recurs independently in career and life interviews.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
A dress designer.
The Q&A, The Guardian, 8 August 2026 source ↗
Others on this question
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Gareth Bale
Welsh footballer
I just wanted to fulfil my potential.
Jim Kerr
Scottish singer and songwriter
In the Beatles.
Salman Rushdie
Indian-British-American novelist
A writer, I’m sorry to say. Boring, I know, but true.
More from Stockard Channing
View profile →“Let’s face it, you’re not Ingrid Bergman.” I was 19 and he was a potential boyfriend. My only thought at the time was: “I’m not?”
At the election of Joe Biden, thinking we were out of the woods. Wrong.
Don’t answer every question you’re asked.
Not keeping off the last 5lbs.
Climate change.
Fifteen years ago, I totally forgot my lines on stage and was mortified. We skipped two pages of dialogue and took three minutes off the play – to the delight of the audience!
More on identity & self
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