Sam Ryder: When were you most embarrassed?

The question

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.

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here

I once did a record store signing in LA, which I had no business doing. No one was there – just staff. They were getting ready to close the shop and sweeping up.

The Q&A, The Guardian, 26 August 2023 source ↗

Others on this question

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Richard Eyre

When I was doing a masterclass at a theatre and I had to leave the stage because I was about to shit my pants.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 28 February 2026 source ↗

Craig Charles English actor

The Fake Sheikh did a sting on me once and the News of the World headline was “Craig Charles is an evil drug-pushing monster”. That wasn’t good on the school run, I’ll tell you that.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 13 July 2024 source ↗

Paapa Essiedu British actor

In order to raise money to pay for myself to go to the National Youth Theatre, I performed a medley of my drama school speeches and some songs for my entire school. Considering I can’t sing, this was terrible. I did U Remind Me by Usher and Hey There Delilah by the Plain White T’s. They paid £2 each – basically, to laugh at me.

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

Tuppence Middleton

Congratulating Dua Lipa on managing to release a single in such a tough industry, because I thought she was a struggling indie artist. I Googled her the next day and realised that she has 88 million followers.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 9 May 2026 source ↗