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The question

What disappointment has stayed with you longest?

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.

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Others on this question

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David Jason English actor
At the time, not landing the role of Lance-Corporal Jones in Dad’s Army, but it all worked out fine in the long run.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 29 May 2021 source ↗
Jenny Agutter English actress
When I was 14 I went up for Juliet with Zeffirelli and I was hugely disappointed that I didn’t get that.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 13 January 2018 source ↗
My wife and I were meant to meet Frank Sinatra before he went on stage in Hamburg. But there was a taxi-drivers’ strike and we were too late.
Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 27 January 2024 source ↗
Ed Balls British broadcaster and politician
That my competitive pole vault career ended at the age of 15.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 1 November 2008 source ↗

More from Shakin' Stevens

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Question How close have you come to dying? Death & what remains
I had a cardiac arrest in 2010. I also had a close call in the early days in Cardiff when I was in a band called the Denims. We were in a van driving along a narrow mountain road. Somebody wanted to go to the toilet, so we stopped, and afterwards the driver took a wrong turn and we went careering down the mountain. Everyone was screaming, it was like a nightmare. At the bottom was the railway line, but the van stopped just in time. We were very lucky.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 18 February 2023 source ↗

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Kate Nash, Laura Mvula, Björn Ulvaeus, Neneh Cherry, Charlotte Church, Alison Moyet

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