Ian Rankin
Scottish crime writer
Fondly and down the centuries. I think partly what drives writers to write is the yearning for immortality.
What would you like to be remembered for?
Question
What happens when we die?
Death & what remains
Question
Which trait do you most dislike in yourself?
Identity & self
Question
What most recently made you cry?
Identity & self
Question
What is the worst job you have done?
Craft & work
Question
What single thing would improve the quality of your life?
Daily life
Question
Which living person do you most admire, and why?
Values & belief
Originally asked
Vogue, to one guest at a time, on camera, 73 Questions
A recurring legacy prompt in Vogue's 73 Questions, appearing with only minor wording changes.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
As a man who tried his best to entertain.
The Q&A, The Guardian, 8 March 2025 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 214 →
Lleyton Hewitt
Australian professional tennis player
As someone who got the absolute most out of themselves.
As a decent human being.
Gino D'Acampo
Italian-British celebrity chef and media personality
As a nice and fair guy who helped bring authentic Italian cooking to the UK.
More from Charles Collingwood
View profile →When my mother died in my arms, I feel I witnessed her spirit leaving her body, so let’s just wait and see.
I talk too much.
Watching the Festival of Remembrance last autumn.
Standing outside a pub in Acton on a freezing February day in a threadbare overcoat doing market research.
If you’d asked me last year, I would have said a knee replacement.
Freddie Flintoff. He played cricket in the best spirit and in his series Field of Dreams, you could see the boys hanging on his every word. He’s a special guy.
More on death & what remains
- How close have you come to death? 209 answers
- What song would you like played at your funeral? 178 answers
- If you had only one day left to live, how would you spend it — and what would you deliberately avoid doing? 54 answers
- What happens when we die? 51 answers
- What would you like to leave your children? 44 answers
- How would you like to die? 44 answers
Also answered this
Big Narstie, Mark Radcliffe, Lemn Sissay, Daryl McCormack, Shobna Gulati, Jane Birkin
Search the directory for somebody in particular.
Explore further
- All death & what remains questions
- The 73 Questions questionnaire — 5 questions from the same format
- Explore the archive — by field, age, era, and subject