Tim Minchin: What period or moment in your life brought you the most joy?

The question

What period or moment in your life brought you the most joy?

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.

Tim Minchin

Australian musician, writer, actor and comedian

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here

Maybe when my wife Sarah and I were walking back to our hotel in Covent Garden, London, through the snow after the Olivier awards when Matilda won all the stuff. Hold on, I’m meant to say the birth of my children, aren’t I?

The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 11 July 2020 source ↗

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Angela Eagle British politician

The day of my civil partnership.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 20 April 2012 source ↗

Val McDermid Scottish crime novel writer

I am happiest right now. Things are going really well – my professional life, my personal life, my family life.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 15 February 2020 source ↗

Romola Garai

In the orange blossom-filled streets of Seville, snogging on a park bench.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 2 February 2013 source ↗

Marcus Brigstocke

Every morning when I go into our three-year-old’s room. He’s so happy to see you, it’s a moment of heaven.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 4 January 2025 source ↗

More from Tim Minchin

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Question If you could revise one chapter of your past, what would you change? Failure & regret

I’d take back some dumb shit I said when I had no audience and found that being shocking made people laugh.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 11 July 2020 source ↗

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

Anxiety, mostly, once you have kids.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 11 July 2020 source ↗

Question Who alive today do you admire most, and what draws you to them? Values & belief

Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Maybe if we all admire her hard enough, she’ll live beyond this incredibly disturbing era.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 11 July 2020 source ↗

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