Ian Rankin
Scottish crime writer
I’d give myself some fashion sense.
If you could edit your past, what would you change?
Question
What keeps you awake at night?
Daily life
Question
Which trait do you most dislike in yourself?
Identity & self
Question
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
Identity & self
Question
Which moment embarrassed you most?
Failure & regret
Question
What is the worst job you have done?
Craft & work
Question
What is the most important lesson life has taught you?
Time & hindsight
Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
Repeated verbatim in The Guardian's long-running Saturday Q&A; two publisher-hosted examples establish recurrence.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
All of my hairstyles from the age of 16 to 25.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 29 April 2023 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 203 →
John Simpson
English journalist
I would have behaved better to my first wife, and the girl I lived with afterwards. I was always away.
Katharine Hamnett
English fashion designer
Boarding school. It was horrible.
Absolutely nothing.
More from Jack Whitehall
View profile →Mainly my devil dog.
I’m rabidly indiscreet. If you tell me an embarrassing story, it will probably end up in one of my scripts or standup routines.
I was hellbent on being a Thunderbird. I was devastated when my parents finally told me it was a fictional organisation. Ruined my 18th.
I was bumped as a guest on The Justin Lee Collins show for Bianca from EastEnders.
It’s also one of the best jobs I’ve done, but two hours in, when everyone’s pissed and ignoring you, hosting the Brit awards can be a tough gig.
Don’t make jokes at the expense of Little Mix. They have an ardent fanbase.
More on failure & regret
- What has been your biggest disappointment? 219 answers
- Who most deserves an apology from you, and why? 209 answers
- What is the worst thing anyone has said to you? 122 answers
- Which moment embarrassed you most? 122 answers
- 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? 36 answers
Also answered this · A–Z
Adrian Edmondson, Adrian Scarborough, Aidan Gillen, Alison Steadman, Ann Dowd, Beverley Knight
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