The question
What accomplishment matters most to you?Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
Verbatim recurring item in The Guardian Q&A; two fully readable publisher-hosted respondent pages establish institutional recurrence.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
Picking myself back up after very tricky times and trying again.
The Q&A, The Guardian, 7 March 2026 source ↗
My marriage and my sobriety. The sobriety makes the marriage possible.
I’m proud of my achievements at the Olympics. But I prepare in exactly the same way for every race.
Chekhov said, any idiot can weather a crisis, it’s the day-to-day living that wears you out. I think the same is true for great achievements. It’s not a big thing, but one ought to feel proud about the small moments in which you might have helped, cared for, or done something good for others.
Deciding what and who I wanted to be early on in life.
An air steward, because I loved airports. I wrote a letter to British Airways when I was seven and I’ve got the reply in the loft, which says, “You’re a bit young at seven but do stay in touch.” I was that kind of kid who was eager to start the ball rolling.
The more you face shame and stare it in the eyes and talk about it, the less potent it is.
On radio, I once said “anal” instead of “angel”.
Eager to learn.
People have said, “I wish you would die.” That’s the stark truth of being in the public eye – people dehumanise you and say ghastly things.
Superiority. I shrink when I’m around people who act superior, whether it’s due to authority or intellect. I almost become mute.
Jodie Whittaker, Johannes Radebe, Rosie Jones, Bryan Adams, Graham Norton, Emily Mortimer
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