Fay Ripley
English actress, television presenter, cookbook author
When my kids had little teeth and curly hair, and hadn’t discovered the idea of wanting to leave home.
When were you happiest?
Question
If you could edit your past, what would you change?
Failure & regret
Question
Which living person do you most admire, and why?
Values & belief
Question
What is the worst job you have done?
Craft & work
Question
Who most deserves an apology from you, and why?
Failure & regret
Question
What has been your biggest disappointment?
Failure & regret
Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
Asked in 52 of the 131 consecutive instalments of The Guardian's The Q&A harvested on 2026-08-29.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
When I received my scholarship to art school in 1945.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 18 May 2019 source ↗
Others on this question
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Ray Mears
British woodsman and TV presenter
Right now. I live in the present.
Susan Greenfield
British scientist
In 1978, working in France for a year. It was my first time working abroad.
David Haye
British boxer
Right now – I’ve 35 years of experience to understand how to make the most of every day.
More from Judith Kerr
View profile →Nothing, really, because it was all interesting.
No one I can think of, but lots of people no longer living.
Secretary to a lawyer. I was sacked after a week.
My parents. We didn’t realise how absolutely desperate they were when we left Germany, because my father couldn’t earn anything. A letter turned up fairly recently in which he said, “We’ve been through a terrible time because Julia [my mother] never stopped talking about suicide and not just for herself, but to take the children with her.”
Not having longer legs.
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Bernadine Evaristo, Fatima Bhutto, Reece Shearsmith, Val McDermid, George Saunders, John Grisham
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