Sandi Toksvig: How close have you come to dying?

The question

How close have you come to dying?

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.

Sandi Toksvig

Danish and British broadcaster, comedian and writer

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here

I’ve had a surprising number of near-death experiences: I was nearly blown up by a landmine in Sudan; I was stranded on the Zambezi river at night; I was bucked off a rodeo horse in Arizona and had to be airlifted to hospital; and, worst of all, I once ate a Pot Noodle.

The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 3 March 2018 source ↗

Others on this question

View all 209 →

David Jason English actor

Diving in the Virgin Islands. I lost sight of the boat and had to swim to a tiny, deserted island. After a great deal of time, the rescue boat saw me waving for my life on the rocks.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 29 May 2021 source ↗

Felicity Jones British actress

Nearly crashing into a train on one film, almost falling out of a hot-air balloon on another, narrowly avoiding getting knocked over by a taxi …

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 27 May 2023 source ↗

Kim Wilde English pop singer

When I was three and had meningitis.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 3 August 2019 source ↗

Walton Goggins

After a significant traumatic experience when I was looking for reasons to stay alive.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 10 May 2025 source ↗

More from Sandi Toksvig

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Question What most recently moved you to tears? Identity & self

When I read the story of a blind, bisexual goose called Thomas who had died in New Zealand after a lifetime of love for a swan called Henry. It sounds ridiculous but is entirely true.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 3 March 2018 source ↗