Philippa Dunne: What do you fear most? — FLAPSS

The question

What do you fear most?

Originally asked

Vanity Fair, to its interview subject, The Proust Questionnaire

The exact prompt is fixed in Vanity Fair's Proust Questionnaire and independently sustained in The Guardian's The Q&A over multiple decades.

You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.

PD

Philippa Dunne

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here

I’ve a phobia of statues. It does go back to childhood. My parents brought me to look at a French church late at night. Since then I can’t deal with them.

The Q&A, The Guardian, 6 June 2026 source ↗

Others on this question

View all 256 →

Sharleen Spiteri

When I was little, a couple of rapes took place in Glasgow. I remember my mum saying to walk in the middle of the pavement, and to this day I am very conscious of where I am.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 4 May 2024 source ↗

Losing my mind.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 9 September 2023 source ↗

Nikki Amuka-Bird

I’m quite scared of bats. I’m just seeing rats with wings – no, thanks.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 3 May 2025 source ↗

Carrie Brownstein

That it takes a week for someone to discover my body.

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, August 2018 source ↗

More from Philippa Dunne

View profile →

Question How would you sum yourself up in three words? Identity & self

Funny Irish woman.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 6 June 2026 source ↗

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

My mother, because when I’m stressed, I can be really horrible to her.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 6 June 2026 source ↗

Question What one change would most improve the quality of your daily life? Daily life

If I needed less sleep.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 6 June 2026 source ↗

Question What disappointment has stayed with you longest? Failure & regret

I started my career not getting jobs, but then you learn that 95% of this job is not getting jobs, and you just have to make peace with it.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 6 June 2026 source ↗

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

An actor. I watched a lot of TV because we lived in the countryside and the weather was so bad.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 6 June 2026 source ↗

Question Excluding property, what is the most expensive thing you have ever bought? Money & investment

A wedding ring.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 6 June 2026 source ↗

More on identity & self

Also answered this

Felicity Jones, Julian Clary, Craig Charles, Scott Mills, Charlotte Rampling, Whoopi Goldberg

Search the directory for somebody in particular.

Explore further

All identity & self questions
The The Proust Questionnaire questionnaire — 5 questions from the same format
Explore the archive — by field, age, era, and subject

Report this answer