Laurence Fox: How close have you come to death?

How close have you come to death?

Originally asked

The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A

A recurring Guardian Q&A prompt asked directly across respondents and years.

You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.

Recorded Laurence Fox said elsewhere, not written here

A motorbike crash. I broke my shoulder and ribs and was so scared I didn’t ride for two years.

The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 14 December 2019 source ↗

Others on this question

View all 209 →

Mariella Frostrup

I’ve had a few hairy scrapes as a scuba diver.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 4 November 2023 source ↗

Adam Peaty British swimmer; Olympic champion 2016 and 2021

I was on a cliff in Dartmoor, doing a Royal Marine abseil. I fell upside down and thought, “I’m going to die here.”

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 1 January 2022 source ↗

Bear Grylls

Where do I begin? There have been a lot.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 24 January 2026 source ↗

Louis Theroux British and American journalist and author

I don’t think I’ve ever been close to death but I am a nervous flyer, especially during turbulence, so there have been many times where I’ve felt that I was.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 17 November 2018 source ↗