Laurence Fox: How close have you come to death?

How close have you come to death?

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.

Recorded Laurence Fox said elsewhere, not written here

A motorbike crash. I broke my shoulder and ribs and was so scared I didn’t ride for two years.

The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 14 December 2019 source ↗

Others on this question

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Shakin' Stevens Welsh rock and roll singer and songwriter

I had a cardiac arrest in 2010. I also had a close call in the early days in Cardiff when I was in a band called the Denims. We were in a van driving along a narrow mountain road. Somebody wanted to go to the toilet, so we stopped, and afterwards the driver took a wrong turn and we went careering down the mountain. Everyone was screaming, it was like a nightmare. At the bottom was the railway line, but the van stopped just in time. We were very lucky.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 18 February 2023 source ↗

Gary Numan British musician

I was an air display pilot for 15 years, and watched most of my friends die in crashes. When the children came along, I got out of it.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 29 July 2017 source ↗

Sarah Millican English comedian

My sister saved me from drowning. I shouted at her because she pulled me out of the pool and hurt my arm.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 20 January 2018 source ↗

David Hasselhoff American actor, singer, and television personality

Scuba diving in Costa Rica. My stunt double and I were trying out some equipment that let us talk to each other and I ran out of air at 80ft - probably because I talked too much. I had to use his air. Then we were surrounded by sharks. It was scary.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 11 April 2009 source ↗