Alison Steadman
British actress
I repeat stories (like my mum used to).
Which trait do you most dislike in yourself?
Question
What is your greatest fear?
Identity & self
Question
What has been your biggest disappointment?
Failure & regret
Question
How would you describe yourself in three words?
Identity & self
Question
What would you like to leave your children?
Death & what remains
Question
Which living person do you most admire, and why?
Values & belief
Question
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Values & belief
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.
When I ruin someone else’s story because I think mine is better, so butt in before they’ve finished theirs.
The Q&A, The Guardian, 15 August 2026 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 252 →Speaking negatively to myself.
Not getting to the point.
Bill Gates
Co-founder of Microsoft; co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
I was too emotional about something not going too well.
Recorded
Times of India editors, TOI Guest Editor interview, The Times of India, 17 November 2017
source ↗
More from Dawn O’Porter
View profile →Clothes moths (and the imminent threat of world war three).
Not winning Celebrity MasterChef. I am still gutted, despite many months of pretending to be fine with it.
Hungry, hard-working, cats.
My Siamese cat, which I had freeze-dried after she died. I really think their future partners will like it.
My Auntie Jane. She took me in, aged 10, and, after my mother died, healed my broken heart by filling our dining room with food and people. Still cooking at the grand old age of 89. My icon.
When they ruin my story because they think theirs is better, so butt in before I’ve finished mine.
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