Jake Shears: Who deserves an apology from you, and for what?

The question

Who deserves an apology from you, and for what?

Originally asked

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

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

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

Jake Shears

Singer and songwriter; co-lead vocalist of Scissor Sisters

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here

To the Scissor Sisters. Back in the day, I could be an absolute monster; I was a real asshole.

The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 17 July 2021 source ↗

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Esther Rantzen

To everyone I’ve bored.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 17 February 2024 source ↗

Esther Freud

Sorry is such an underrated word – I use it liberally.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 4 July 2026 source ↗

Ronnie O'Sullivan English snooker player

Frank Adamson, my first coach, for not spending more time with him in his later years. I feel bad about that.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 13 May 2023 source ↗

Angela Griffin British actress and television presenter

Lee Warburton. He had just left drama school and was doing the Alexander technique in the Corrie green room. I hadn’t been to drama school, and really took the piss out of him.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 20 August 2022 source ↗

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Question What thought won't let you sleep? Daily life

Getting older and dying.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 17 July 2021 source ↗

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

The realisation that I am no longer young.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 17 July 2021 source ↗

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

A Henry Darger painting. Sadly, I lost it in the divorce, but it was a great parting gift.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 17 July 2021 source ↗

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

Five years ago, a concrete plug, a little bigger than a baseball, fell off a building on Hollywood Boulevard when I was riding in an open convertible. It shattered the windshield. It really shook me. I still have it on my mantel.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 17 July 2021 source ↗

Question If you had only one day left, how would you spend it — and what would you deliberately avoid? Death & what remains

It would definitely involve lots of sex. I would spend the afternoon having some crazy passionate declarative sex with my husband.

Recorded Clash, Last Day On Earth, 29 June 2012 source ↗

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