Madhur Jaffrey: 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 Madhur Jaffrey said elsewhere, not written here

A doctor, a painter, an actress.

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

Others on this question

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Shirley MacLaine American actress and author

At three, I knew I was too tall to be a ballerina, so that wasn’t going to happen.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 8 July 2017 source ↗

Martin Kemp English musician and actor

I wanted to play for Arsenal. When I have a kick-around with my boy, I still feel as if someone’s going to spot me.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 14 July 2018 source ↗

Gregg Wallace English broadcaster and writer

A sailor. I wanted to be in the Royal Navy like my grandad.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 9 April 2022 source ↗

Isabelle Huppert French actress

I dreamed of being an artistic skater. And a nursery nurse.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 26 May 2018 source ↗

More from Madhur Jaffrey

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

A 19th-century ebony and cane chair from the Raj period.

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

Question What keeps you awake at night? Daily life

Unfinished work and caffeine.

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

Question When were you happiest? Time & hindsight

I am happiest when I am working.

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

Question How close have you come to death? Death & what remains

It’s nearly happened twice, each time after an operation.

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

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

If only I could drive. I have tried learning. I almost demolished James Ivory’s house in America. That was scary; I never drove again.

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

Question What song would you like played at your funeral? Death & what remains

None: I do not want a funeral.

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

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