Katherine Parkinson
English actor
An astronaut. I still do.
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
Question
Which living person do you most admire, and why?
Values & belief
Question
What has been your biggest disappointment?
Failure & regret
Question
What keeps you awake at night?
Daily life
Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
This is a standing question in The Guardian's decades-long The Q&A and also recurs independently in career and life interviews.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
A drunk woman who threw epic dinner parties.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 15 August 2026 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 195 →A singer. I wanted to live off music ever since I was a child – a wish that came true when I was over 35 years old.
Joanne Froggatt
English actress
An actor – that’s all I’ve ever wanted to do. I went to stage school when I was 13.
Victoria Pendleton
British cyclist
A vet, but I wasn’t smart enough.
More from Dawn O'Porter
View profile →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.
Not winning Celebrity MasterChef. I am still gutted, despite many months of pretending to be fine with it.
Perimenopausal anxiety, the terrible feeling of impending doom, something awful happening to my children, writing deadlines. Apart from that, I’m quite chilled.
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