Skip to content

The question

How close have you come to dying?

Originally asked

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

A recurring Guardian Q&A prompt asked directly across respondents and years.

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

Others on this question

View all 209 →
My failed driving test a few months ago. I got three majors and by the end of it the examiner couldn’t wait to get out of the car.
Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 6 September 2025 source ↗
Cynthia Nixon American actress and politician
When I was 13, I was on a bicycle and got hit by a taxi in New York.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 8 April 2017 source ↗
Kim Gordon American musician and artist
When I was little, I took a bunch of pills out of the cabinet because I was bored, when I was supposed to be taking a nap. I had to have my stomach pumped.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 21 March 2020 source ↗
Tess Daly English television presenter
On a motorway three years ago. An HGV hadn’t seen me and pulled out. My father-in-law’s a truck driver and he said black cars are not very visible. I don’t drive them any more.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 17 December 2016 source ↗

More from Madhur Jaffrey

View profile →

More on death & what remains

Also answered this

Charles Dance, Martin Clunes, Anna Friel, Noel Clarke, Reggie Yates, Carlos Acosta

Search the directory for somebody in particular.

Explore further

Report this answer