Paul O'Grady: Excluding property, what is the most expensive thing you have ever bought?

The question

Excluding property, what is the most expensive thing you have ever bought?

Originally asked

The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A

The Guardian's weekly The Q&A repeatedly uses this standing prompt, with minor contractions and word-order variation.

You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.

Paul O'Grady

British comedian, actor and television presenter

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here

I had a midlife crisis and paid 70 grand for a Morgan AeroMax which looked just like Cruella de Vil’s car. I was in a permanent state of terror and soon sold it.

The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 27 November 2021 source ↗

Others on this question

View all 198 →

Erin O'Connor English model

An electric-yellow mohair rug.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 1 March 2008 source ↗

Julie Hesmondhalgh English actress and narrator

An old camper van that has cost me more in repairs than my house, my wedding and all the holidays I’ve ever been on.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 17 February 2018 source ↗

Lee Child

A painting by Renoir, paid for by demanding a huge fee for a screenwriting deal with a producer I didn’t want to work for. The movie was never made.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 7 June 2025 source ↗

Robert Peston British journalist

A Savile Row suit. Never again. Although I love it, I still feel guilty about what it cost.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 23 June 2018 source ↗

More from Paul O'Grady

View profile →

Question What period or moment in your life brought you the most joy? Time & hindsight

When I hit 30 and managed to get a council flat in London. It was in the most terrible state, but it was bliss to have a flat of my own.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 27 November 2021 source ↗

Question As a child, what career or life did you imagine for yourself? Identity & self

To work in a dry cleaner’s.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 27 November 2021 source ↗

Question What most recently moved you to tears? Identity & self

When I watched a series called Pose. The hospital scenes took me right back to when we were going through the Aids years. It’s the same with It’s a Sin.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 27 November 2021 source ↗