My closest friend at uni – I sometimes retreat from life in quite an extreme way, without word. Back then, I didn’t really understand what I was doing.
Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 22 February 2025 source ↗
Who most deserves an apology from you, and why?
Question
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Craft & work
Question
Which living person do you most admire, and why?
Values & belief
Question
What single thing would improve the quality of your life?
Daily life
Question
What has been your biggest disappointment?
Failure & regret
Question
What is the worst job you have done?
Craft & work
Question
When were you happiest?
Time & hindsight
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.
My dog, Mr Q, because he has the saddest look when I leave.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 3 February 2018 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 209 →To Gorka Márquez, who was my Strictly partner, for not winning the glitterball in 2022.
Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 3 January 2026 source ↗
Rick Astley
Singer, songwriter and radio presenter
My wife, because she manages me and sometimes there isn’t time for niceties and we have to talk in a language that isn’t very marriage-like.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 20 October 2018 source ↗
Rhys Ifans
Welsh actor and musician
To anyone I’ve unintentionally hurt or upset.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 28 September 2019 source ↗
More from Archie Panjabi
View profile →I am an ambassador for Rotary, and we are very close to eradicating polio. When I was younger, I lived in Mumbai and, as a kid from England, I was traumatised by seeing children on the street without limbs.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 3 February 2018 source ↗
Mathew Varghese, an orthopaedic surgeon who runs India’s only polio ward in Delhi. He provides reconstructive surgery to help survivors walk.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 3 February 2018 source ↗
Everyone cutting out social media for one day a week.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 3 February 2018 source ↗
I was rejected by EastEnders, having been called three times. I was heartbroken.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 3 February 2018 source ↗
Redeeming mortgages. I did it for a few weeks, and it sealed the deal that I wanted a career in entertainment.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 3 February 2018 source ↗
When I got a doctorate from my alma mater, Brunel. My mother always wanted me to become a doctor.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 3 February 2018 source ↗
More on failure & regret
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- How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success? Do you have a favourite failure? 60 answers
- What is the hardest thing that has happened to you, and what did you carry out of it? 35 answers
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