In school, I was 11, and we had to paint a picture of family life. My painting was held up to the class and I was told it looked like a spider with ink on its feet had walked across the page. It was done so viciously – humiliating.
What is the worst thing anyone has said to you?
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
What is your greatest fear?
Identity & self
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
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Values & belief
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.
A lady came up to me in Tesco last year and said, “Excuse me, but didn’t you used to be Roger McGough?”
The Q&A, The Guardian, 10 January 2026 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 122 →
Belinda Carlisle
American singer
“You sing like a goat.” When I did my French album [Voila], this French woman – a supposed friend – said to my face: “It’s fantastic but, how come you sound like a chèvre?” It was like someone had hit me in the stomach.
Apart from stuff on social media, an ex-partner telling me I’m unlovable.
This was said about me in a Radio 1 focus group: “I don’t pay my licence fee to hear scummy northerners.”
More from Roger McGough
View profile →Unimpeachable, nonpareil, self‑effacing.
That it will go on quite happily without me.
Losing track (see above).
I’m embarrassed when I get people’s names wrong.
I had dreams of becoming the first scouse pope. Unfortunately, the girls got to me first.
I’m irritated by critics and academics who dismiss poetry that is popular, comprehensible or humorous.
More on failure & regret
- What has been your biggest disappointment? 366 answers
- Who most deserves an apology from you, and why? 209 answers
- If you could edit your past, what would you change? 203 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? 63 answers
- What is the hardest thing that has happened to you, and what did you carry out of it? 36 answers
Also answered this
Robert Carlyle, Richard Coles, Paapa Essiedu, Sharleen Spiteri, Indira Varma, Craig Charles
Search the directory for somebody in particular.
Explore further
- All failure & regret questions
- The The Q&A questionnaire — 25 questions from the same format
- Explore the archive — by field, age, era, and subject