Elaine Paige
English singer and actress
If I have upset someone, I have said sorry to him or her at the time.
Who most deserves an apology from you, and why?
Question
Which trait do you most dislike in yourself?
Identity & self
Question
Which book are you ashamed not to have read?
Taste & recommendation
Question
Which moment embarrassed you most?
Failure & regret
Question
If you could edit your past, what would you change?
Failure & regret
Question
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Craft & work
Question
What single thing would improve the quality of your life?
Daily life
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.
When I was in my 20s, I had an uncle who took his own life. I would like a second chance to say: “Hang in there.” My parents were living abroad, and me and my sister were just too young to notice the flags.
The Q&A, The Guardian, 29 August 2026 source ↗
Others on this question
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Ian Rankin
Scottish crime writer
There wasn’t a lot of bullying at my school, but there was a fair amount of ragging – and I knew which side I wanted to be on. I’d say sorry to anyone who felt picked on.
My closest friend at uni – I sometimes retreat from life in quite an extreme way, without word. Back then, I didn’t really understand what I was doing.
Kellie Maloney
Retired boxing manager, promoter and politician
To my daughters and my partner, Tracey, for what I put them through with my transition.
More from Adele Parks
View profile →Speaking negatively to myself.
I’ve never read any Salman Rushdie.
When I concentrate, I put my thumb in my mouth. I once did it during a really important meeting when asked a question I didn’t know the answer to. When I left the meeting my friend said: “What did you put your thumb in your mouth for?” I didn’t know I’d done it.
I would become fitter younger. Because I would have been hotter younger!
How much my son loves me, particularly considering I’ve had a huge career.
A sushi chef in my kitchen.
More on failure & regret
- What has been your biggest disappointment? 369 answers
- If you could edit your past, what would you change? 205 answers
- What is the worst thing anyone has said to you? 124 answers
- Which moment embarrassed you most? 124 answers
- How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success? Do you have a favourite failure? 77 answers
- What is the hardest thing that has happened to you, and what did you carry out of it? 39 answers
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Elaine Paige, Ian Wright, Isabel Allende, Tracy-Ann Oberman, Jessica Brown Findlay, Eddie Izzard
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