The question
Who deserves an apology from you, and for what?Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
A fixed Guardian Q&A prompt asked directly across respondents and years.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
My younger self for being hard on myself.
The Q&A, The Guardian, 18 July 2026 source ↗
Luke. It’s hard growing up with a heroin addict, and I treated him in his vulnerability in a way I would never have treated anyone I worked with.
I did a crap impersonation of JK Rowling a few years ago. Sorry, JK. Can this apology put me on a casting list for your next mega-franchise?
To myself. I am my harshest critic.
To my daughters and my partner, Tracey, for what I put them through with my transition.
Forgetting the words to my own songs on stage. I’m a very good mumbler of my own songs. You’d be surprised how few people notice – if you smile and do it confidently, they’re none the wiser.
I worry a lot about how to juggle being a single parent and working – scheduling keeps me up at night!
Be true to yourself.
Alanis Morissette because, in my earlier career, she was a big influence on me and had a feistiness that you didn’t see much of in women in the industry. Also, she has been very vocal about mental health issues.
Not having the ability to say sorry when they’re wrong.
I’ve enjoyed every single job, including working at my dad’s chicken shop selling potato gems (fried potato circles) to the surfer dudes.
Siobhán McSweeney, Charlotte Rampling, Kate Humble, Charlie Higson, Bella Freud, Mark Steel
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