Emma Barnett: What did you want to be when you were growing up? — FLAPSS

What did you want to be when you were growing up?

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.

Recorded Emma Barnett said elsewhere, not written here

A fishmonger, then a surgeon.

The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 20 February 2021 source ↗

Others on this question

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Matt Goss English singer-songwriter

I wanted to be like Vidal Sassoon and wear the three-piece suit and be part of pop culture.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 12 March 2022 source ↗

Liev Schreiber American actor

An elevator operator.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 14 September 2024 source ↗

Andrew O'Hagan Scottish author

Most days, I wanted to be Albrecht in the classical ballet Giselle, dancing until I dropped dead.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 25 July 2026 source ↗

Not a child, which was short-sighted of me.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 2 March 2024 source ↗

More from Emma Barnett

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Question If you could edit your past, what would you change? Failure & regret

Not being able to have a baby for two and a half years. Lots of people say it made me a better person; I think it made me worse. You go to a very dark place with your friends because they are having kids, and you want to be happy for them but you’re not.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 20 February 2021 source ↗

Question What single thing would improve the quality of your life? Daily life

A cure for endometriosis.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 20 February 2021 source ↗

Question Aside from a property, what is the most expensive thing you have bought? Money & investment

A wedding, in 2012.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 20 February 2021 source ↗

Question What does love feel like? Relationships

Very hard, meaningful kisses.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 20 February 2021 source ↗

Question What keeps you awake at night? Daily life

Our son. And ideas for Woman’s Hour, or businesses to start.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 20 February 2021 source ↗

Question What do you consider your greatest achievement? Craft & work

Keeping a relationship with the love of my life, for 16 years.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 20 February 2021 source ↗

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