Charlie Higson: Which trait in yourself do you like least? — FLAPSS

The question

Which trait in yourself do you like least?

Originally asked

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

The Guardian's The Q&A has retained this Proust-derived prompt from at least 2007 through 2026, and ABC independently put it to the Obamas in 2011.

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

CH

Charlie Higson

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here

I can be horribly smug and conceited, and yet always in the back of my mind is the thought that things could go terribly wrong at any moment.

The Q&A, The Guardian, 11 October 2025 source ↗

Others on this question

View all 239 →

Marina Abramović Performance artist

My difficulty to forgive.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 5 October 2024 source ↗

My Sicilian impulsiveness.

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, August 2024 source ↗

I can go for weeks without opening the mail. I can look at a letter that has just dropped through the letterbox, wonder what it is and then just shred it.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 9 November 2024 source ↗

Gina Lollobrigida

Sometimes I follow my instincts more than my reason.

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, July 2013 source ↗

More from Charlie Higson

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Question Who deserves an apology from you, and for what? Failure & regret

All the kids I didn’t reply to who’ve written lovely letters about my books.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 11 October 2025 source ↗

Question When were you most embarrassed? Failure & regret

I’ve shat myself in public three times. It’s never quite as bad as you fear.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 11 October 2025 source ↗

Question Excluding property, what is the most expensive thing you have ever bought? Money & investment

Three mature palm trees. We restored a property in Italy that had been derelict and I needed to make it look established as quickly as I could.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 11 October 2025 source ↗

Question How would you sum yourself up in three words? Identity & self

Middle-class wanker.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 11 October 2025 source ↗

Question What trait do you most dislike in other people? Values & belief

Aggression. Anger. Rudeness. Intolerance. Lack of understanding. Pretty much your average day on X.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 11 October 2025 source ↗

Question What disappointment has stayed with you longest? Failure & regret

I’m a classic remoaner.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 11 October 2025 source ↗

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