Seann Walsh: What is the harshest thing anyone has said to you? — FLAPSS

The question

What is the harshest thing anyone has said to you?

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.

SW

Seann Walsh

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here

“What is Seann Walsh and how do we make it die?” It was online, thankfully. It wasn’t in Sainsbury’s.

The Q&A, The Guardian, 31 January 2026 source ↗

Others on this question

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“And for you, sir?” It happens a lot.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 17 May 2025 source ↗

It happened when I was younger, somewhere outside London. We were on bikes, and this older girl pulled up and said something racist that I won’t repeat. I will never forget that, because it was the first time, and I was like, “Oh, I am feeling different from everyone around me right now”.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 16 December 2023 source ↗

Rosalind Eleazar

I don’t think you could print it, it’s so bad.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 22 February 2025 source ↗

Another actress once said to me, “I’ve told you huge lies to make you feel good about yourself.” I’m not going to say who.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 6 January 2024 source ↗

More from Seann Walsh

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Question What worries you about getting older? Time & hindsight

That I’m going to start commenting “Wow” under AI images I think are real.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 31 January 2026 source ↗

Question Who deserves an apology from you, and for what? Failure & regret

I did say sorry to my mum, for being the way I was when I was a teenager. You become a parent and go, “Oh my God, this is what they were doing.”

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 31 January 2026 source ↗

Question What is the worst job you have ever had? Craft & work

I got sacked from TK Maxx for falling asleep under the coats.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 31 January 2026 source ↗

Question As a child, what career or life did you imagine for yourself? Identity & self

A comedian or the guy who drives the little truck around airports that takes old ladies to their gate.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 31 January 2026 source ↗

Question What trait do you most dislike in other people? Values & belief

Certainty. I also can’t stand it when someone calls you and then says, “Wait, I need to put my headphones in.”

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 31 January 2026 source ↗

Question What would you most want to leave your children? Death & what remains

A house in west London.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 31 January 2026 source ↗

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