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.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
I really wanted a role in Harry Potter and I never got one.
The Q&A, The Guardian, 2 May 2026 source ↗
Not going to the World Cup in 1986 and not going to the World Cup in 1998.
Not getting into drama college in Dublin. I cut all my hair off as a sort of self-punishment for being crap.
Forest Green Rovers, my football team, getting relegated.
That Al Gore was denied the American presidency in 2000.
Many times on British roads, because I drive very fast. In another life, I would have liked doing Formula One.
I would find a much better way of looking after my mum in her last three years of dementia. I did my best, but it was incredibly difficult to find the right kind of care unless you’ve got £3,000 a week to spend.
I worked in a supermarket on the Kings Road when I was 17, standing by the beers, wines and spirits to make sure people didn’t shoplift. They were such horrible employers that I didn’t care whether people shoplifted or not.
I get a lot of abuse online because of my opposition to the assault on Gaza. The abuse is horrific, but I’ve learned to ignore it. The integrity of how you live your life is more important than what strangers think.
A deep sense that they will be fine in the world without me.
Impulsive, enthusiastic, determined.
David Guetta, John Bishop, Beth Ditto, Dominic West, Rhys Ifans, Paul Theroux
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