Paul O'Grady
British comedian, actor and television presenter
Too many of my friends, family and peers dying.
What has been your biggest disappointment?
Question
What most recently made you cry?
Identity & self
Question
When were you happiest?
Time & hindsight
Question
What single thing would improve the quality of your life?
Daily life
Question
Who most deserves an apology from you, and why?
Failure & regret
Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
This exact question recurs in The Guardian's institutional Q&A pool.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
When I was a 26-year-old news correspondent, the head of BBC news gathering, Chris Cramer, refused to let me take up a six-month attachment on the foreign affairs programme Correspondent. He said: “I think it’s too soon; you could do it later.” He’d never have said that to a man.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 22 January 2022 source ↗
Others on this question
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Sue Townsend
English writer and humorist
Losing my independence.
Philip Glass
American composer
I don't know. I was lucky; I was able to study with the people I wanted to, be friends with the people I wanted to and in the end I've been able to make a living the way I wanted to.
Not joining the circus.
More from Samira Ahmed
View profile →Meeting Richard Ratcliffe outside the Foreign Office during his hunger strike to try to get action to free Nazanin. I’m moved by the loyalty and strength of that couple and their family.
On stage, interviewing one of my heroes, Paul McCartney, at the Royal Festival Hall last November.
A 50-metre lido that was always empty when I went.
My maternal grandmother, who lived with us for many years. I was a moody teenager and sometimes impatient and rude. Yet she was the person I feel I’m most like. I really miss her.
More on failure & regret
- Who most deserves an apology from you, and why? 209 answers
- If you could edit your past, what would you change? 205 answers
- What is the worst thing anyone has said to you? 124 answers
- Which moment embarrassed you most? 124 answers
- How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success? Do you have a favourite failure? 77 answers
- What is the hardest thing that has happened to you, and what did you carry out of it? 39 answers
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