The question
Which trait in yourself do you like least?Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
The Guardian's The Q&A has retained this Proust-derived prompt from at least 2007 through 2026, and ABC independently put it to the Obamas in 2011.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
Patience is not my forte.
The Q&A, The Guardian, 21 December 2024 source ↗
Obsequiousness.
Procrastination.
When I ruin someone else’s story because I think mine is better, so butt in before they’ve finished theirs.
I’m rabidly indiscreet. If you tell me an embarrassing story, it will probably end up in one of my scripts or standup routines.
A Vivienne Westwood & Burberry two-piece suit I bought for a press night. At the time I was: “Yeah, of course I’m going to be a 30-inch waist for the rest of my life.” Now the trousers don’t fit.
An extra day in the week when no one can contact you.
I was a secret shopper and had to do a lot of bookies – Coral and William Hill – all around London. For 18-year-old me looking all fab it was quite scary going in and saying: “Hiya, can I put £4 on No 7 horse, please?” But you got to keep the money when you won.
Dying: I’m too iconic to go.
Falling flat on my face in Billy Elliot on Boxing Day when I was 14. I fell smack bang at the end of my number. I was mortified.
Racial and homophobic slurs – the F- and N-words. When I moved to London, people screamed the F-word from their cars, and that stings.
Leona Lewis, Erin Doherty, Allison Janney, Kelly Hoppen, Carrie Fisher, Henry Winkler
Search the directory for somebody in particular.