Imelda Staunton
English actress and singer
Not working at the Royal Court until now.
What has been your biggest disappointment?
Question
Which trait do you most dislike in yourself?
Identity & self
Question
What scares you about getting older?
Time & hindsight
Question
Who most deserves an apology from you, and why?
Failure & regret
Question
How close have you come to death?
Death & what remains
Question
Which moment embarrassed you most?
Failure & regret
Question
What would you like to be remembered for?
Death & what remains
Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
This exact question recurs in The Guardian's institutional Q&A pool.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
At 16, I thought I’d be part of transforming the world into a socialist egalitarian arena of peace and justice. I’m not sure we’ve quite managed it.
The Q&A, The Guardian, 1 February 2025 source ↗
Others on this question
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Björn Ulvaeus
Swedish musician
In my professional life, the musical Chess on Broadway. It was a resounding fiasco and played for two months. The butcher of Broadway, Frank Rich of the New York Times, was probably very pleased: I’ve never seen such a bad review in my life.
Jane Asher
English actress and author
Fine dining when it goes wrong.
Arianna Huffington
Greek and American businesswoman
I was crushed when my second book was rejected by 37 publishers.
More from Mark Steel
View profile →I’m so tempted to answer serial killer.
Younger people being amazed that I know what song they’re listening to.
My kids. I think if you don’t want to say sorry to your kids you’ve been an appalling parent.
When I had cancer. I was having a shave and thought: “Are you meant to have a big hard lump on one side of your neck?”
When I was 16, my dad got drunk at the Oval cricket ground and harangued Sir Garry Sobers, possibly the greatest cricketer of all time, because he didn’t agree with who he’d given as man of the match.
Through a series of mistakes in write-ups, I’d like to be remembered for something like being Britain’s finest downhill skier or inventing pickled onions.
More on failure & regret
- Who most deserves an apology from you, and why? 209 answers
- If you could edit your past, what would you change? 203 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? 69 answers
- What is the hardest thing that has happened to you, and what did you carry out of it? 36 answers
Also answered this
Heston Blumenthal, Zandra Rhodes, Lucy Lawless, Samira Ahmed, Marian Keyes, Jason Donovan
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- All failure & regret questions
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