Fay Ripley: What do you fear most? — FLAPSS

The question

What do you fear most?

Originally asked

Vanity Fair, to its interview subject, The Proust Questionnaire

The exact prompt is fixed in Vanity Fair's Proust Questionnaire and independently sustained in The Guardian's The Q&A over multiple decades.

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

FR

Fay Ripley

English actress, television presenter, cookbook author

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here

Spiders, needles, blood, pain and breaking wind in public.

The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 26 November 2022 source ↗

Others on this question

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Tuppence Middleton

Endless vomiting. That comes from my emetophobia, which is a huge part of my OCD.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 9 May 2026 source ↗

Losing my mind.

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, January 2025 source ↗

Antonio Banderas

The death of my loved ones.

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, December 2019 source ↗

Fran Lebowitz American author and public speaker

Rodents – including the tiniest mouse.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 18 June 2022 source ↗

More from Fay Ripley

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Question As a child, what career or life did you imagine for yourself? Identity & self

Donny Osmond’s wife. Still do.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 26 November 2022 source ↗

Question What period or moment in your life brought you the most joy? Time & hindsight

When my kids had little teeth and curly hair, and hadn’t discovered the idea of wanting to leave home.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 26 November 2022 source ↗

Question Which trait in yourself do you like least? Identity & self

Being judgmental.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 26 November 2022 source ↗

Question How would you describe what love feels like to you? Relationships

A Mary Berry victoria sponge.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 26 November 2022 source ↗

Question When were you most embarrassed? Failure & regret

See my greatest fear!

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 26 November 2022 source ↗

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

Being judgmental – how dare they!

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 26 November 2022 source ↗

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Patrick Stewart, Helena Bonham Carter, Sofia Coppola, Stephen Fry, Rosie Jones, Rita Wilson

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