Having somebody pull my judo trousers down at a competition when I was seven. And finding I wasn’t wearing any pants.
Which moment embarrassed you most?
Question
If you could edit your past, what would you change?
Failure & regret
Question
Who most deserves an apology from you, and why?
Failure & regret
Question
What would you like to leave your children?
Death & what remains
Question
What single thing would improve the quality of your life?
Daily life
Question
What is the worst thing anyone has said to you?
Failure & regret
Question
What is your greatest fear?
Identity & self
Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
A verbatim recurring question in The Guardian's Q&A series.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
Forty-eight hours after giving birth, I sent a picture that someone had sent me of their baby to a WhatsApp group, thinking it was my son (they kind of looked similar). Mortifying.
The Q&A, The Guardian, 11 November 2023 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 122 →I have a deep-rooted fear of being in trouble. I once tried to sneak into the back of a photography exhibition with my husband when one of our kids was in a pushchair. We’d arrived late and he suggested we go in through the gift shop and see the last room. As we poked our heads round the door, the security guard noticed us. I shouted, “That man’s trying to get in!”, then ran away.
The Radio 1 breakfast show was an embarrassing moment that lasted for nine months.
Minnie Driver
British and American actress
When I was starting out, in the early 90s, I had to fake an orgasm in a room full of male ad execs at an audition for a chocolate bar ad. It was grim.
More from Katie Melua
View profile →I would have partied a little bit harder in my 20s.
My grandma, who died a few years ago, because I wasn’t able to see her on my last visit to Georgia.
A healthy planet.
Knowing everyone I love is always going to be healthy.
“Your lyrics are rubbish.” It was someone I was working with when I was in my early 20s. It turned out well because I then spent a long time studying and learning how to write good lyrics.
When I see older generations struggling with technology, I am afraid of it moving so quickly that I can’t use it.
More on failure & regret
- What has been your biggest disappointment? 366 answers
- Who most deserves an apology from you, and why? 209 answers
- If you could edit your past, what would you change? 203 answers
- What is the worst thing anyone has said to you? 122 answers
- How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success? Do you have a favourite failure? 63 answers
- What is the hardest thing that has happened to you, and what did you carry out of it? 36 answers
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