Bryn Terfel
Welsh bass-baritone singer
One horrible afternoon in Chicago when I forgot my words in The Marriage of Figaro, in a role I’d sung hundreds of times.
Which moment embarrassed you most?
Question
What is your greatest fear?
Identity & self
Question
What would you like to be remembered for?
Death & what remains
Question
What would you like to leave your children?
Death & what remains
Question
How would you describe yourself in three words?
Identity & self
Question
What is the most important lesson life has taught you?
Time & hindsight
Question
When was the last time you changed your mind about something?
Change of mind
Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
A verbatim recurring question in The Guardian's Q&A series.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
After the 2012 Olympics I hosted the parade. I had on a little skirt and when the prime minister came on everyone cheered. I thought: “Oh my God, they love David Cameron,” but they were cheering because my skirt had blown up, and I’d flashed my knickers at him.
The Q&A, The Guardian, 3 January 2026 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 126 →
Tom Allen
British comedian
I did a corporate gig early in my career, and they opened the buffet in the middle of my set and everybody left.
Rose Ayling-Ellis
British actress
Rapping the Humpty Dumpty nursery rhyme on national television.
Clive Myrie
British journalist, newsreader, and presenter
Being called upon by President Bush to ask him a question at a press conference when I wasn’t there. He called my name … and there was no response!
More from Helen Skelton
View profile →Getting to the end and thinking that I haven’t laughed enough.
As someone who made you think that anything’s possible. I did three marathons in a day once but walking the high-wire at Battersea Park station was the challenge I loved most because I had to master a skill.
Good memories. When I’m gone, I want them to feel that they were always my No 1 priority.
Chaotic, warm, northern.
That you get out of life what you put in. When you grow up on a farm you literally reap what you sow.
There’s a house near me that I adore and it came up for sale, and I got to the point of nearly buying it and then pulled out because I’m trying to be sensible.
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Adele Parks, Billy Crudup, Sally Lindsay, Natalie Imbruglia, Su Pollard, Shakin' Stevens
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