Monica Dolan: What is the worst thing anyone has said to you?

What is the worst 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.

Recorded Monica Dolan said elsewhere, not written here

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.

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

Others on this question

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Graham Norton

When I was growing up, my mother would accuse me of showing off. That’s the most shaming, humbling, horrible thing. What was I doing? Showing off!

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 18 April 2026 source ↗

Robert Carlyle Scottish actor

On Angela's Ashes, Alan Parker said to me, 'You've got the Bafta, just get in the door.' I was walking along the street to go into a shop and he saw me milking it a bit. It was a really good piece of advice.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 23 February 2008 source ↗

John Waters American filmmaker

'Do you have a hobby?' It was a journalist. I went into a tirade: 'How dare you presume I'm a dabbler!'

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 13 September 2008 source ↗

Melanie Blatt English singer

“Your career will be over if you have the baby.”To whom would you most like to say sorry, and why? My parents, for my teenage years. I tried to run away when I was 15. We lived in a fishing village in France and, with my boyfriend, I headed to Spain to sell arts and crafts on the beach. Mum came and took me home.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 29 July 2023 source ↗