Andi Oliver: How close have you come to dying?

The question

How close have you come to dying?

Originally asked

The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A

A recurring Guardian Q&A prompt asked directly across respondents and years.

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

Andi Oliver

British cook, television and radio broadcaster, singer

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here

I broke both my legs in a hit-and run accident when I was 26.

The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 11 December 2021 source ↗

Others on this question

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Harry Redknapp English football player and manager

A car accident in Italy in 1990. Four people got killed. I was lucky, I got thrown out.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 4 May 2019 source ↗

Liev Schreiber American actor

A car accident in British Columbia 35-40 years ago. I was driving too quickly on a dirt road and lost control of the car, and it went off a cliff and got stuck in some treetops. We were not at all hurt; we actually just climbed out.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 14 September 2024 source ↗

Scott Mills English radio DJ and television presenter

I went on a private jet with David Hasselhoff, and it was so turbulent between LA and Vegas I thought it was going down. I also thought: “The headline won’t be about me; it will be: David Hasselhoff and friend.”

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 22 October 2022 source ↗

Jo Nesbø Norwegian writer and musician

Rock climbing in Oslo. During abseiling, I hadn’t tied a knot at the end of the rope and almost slid out. I saw the end of the rope at the last second, so I stopped abseiling.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 4 April 2026 source ↗