A veterinarian.
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.
The Q&A, The Guardian, 15 August 2026 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 204 →I did want to be an actor from an early age although I briefly dabbled with the idea of being a vet until I realised you had to stick your hand up a cow’s arse.
An elevator operator.
When I was about 14 and got my first drum kit, I wanted to be a drummer in a band like the Police.
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.
When they ruin my story because they think theirs is better, so butt in before I’ve finished mine.
My Siamese cat, which I had freeze-dried after she died. I really think their future partners will like it.
Not winning Celebrity MasterChef. I am still gutted, despite many months of pretending to be fine with it.
So far, getting older has made almost everything better.
Perimenopausal anxiety, the terrible feeling of impending doom, something awful happening to my children, writing deadlines. Apart from that, I’m quite chilled.
More on identity & self
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Samuel West, Frank Bowling, Philippa Dunne, Engelbert Humperdinck, Stockard Channing, Gregg Wallace
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