Nicholas Parsons
English actor, straight man and presenter
When my children Suzy and Justin were small: I loved watching them grow up, helping and encouraging them.
When were you happiest?
Question
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
Identity & self
Question
What most recently made you cry?
Identity & self
Question
What is the worst job you have done?
Craft & work
Question
What single thing would improve the quality of your life?
Daily life
Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
Asked in 52 of the 131 consecutive instalments of The Guardian's The Q&A harvested on 2026-08-29.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
When I came round after being seriously ill. I’d had a dose of morphine, the sun was shining and I thought, “Ah yes, I live!”
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 16 June 2018 source ↗
Others on this question
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Gloria Estefan
Cuban-American singer and songwriter
1 March 1991, when I got back on the stage almost a year after a road accident in our tour bus. I felt like I had climbed Mount Everest. That was euphoric.
Phil Daniels
English actor and singer
When I was a kid, I ran everywhere, pretending I was in the Olympics, and would always sprint the last 20 yards home to win gold.
Emily Watson
English actress
About half an hour ago, watching through the window as my dad and two-year-old daughter walked to the paper shop together.
More from Paul Whitehouse
View profile →A professional footballer.
When my dad died this year.
I was what I call a “nut lifter” in a factory in Enfield. I had to get nuts and bolts from the production line into big tins.
The eradication of poverty would be nice, but at the moment, a double macchiato.
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Nadiya Hussain, Ai Weiwei, Frank Bowling, Nick Robinson, Stanley Tucci, Marcus Brigstocke
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