Dawn O’Porter: What disappointment has stayed with you longest?

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.

Dawn O’Porter

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here

Not winning Celebrity MasterChef. I am still gutted, despite many months of pretending to be fine with it.

The Q&A, The Guardian, 15 August 2026 source ↗

Others on this question

View all 367 →

Jason Donovan

I got seduced by being a pop star, and why wouldn’t I? I think I could have made a few more career moves with films. But I was nervous. How do you move forward as an actor creatively if you are just appealing to teenage girls?

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 13 January 2024 source ↗

Nuala McGovern

Three times when I lived in New York, I missed seeing David Bowie in real life by moments.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 8 November 2025 source ↗

Rita Ora British singer-songwriter

I got dropped from two record deals when I was 14 and 17.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 22 August 2015 source ↗

Dawn O'Porter British writer, director, and television presenter

Not winning Celebrity MasterChef. I am still gutted, despite many months of pretending to be fine with it.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 15 August 2026 source ↗

More from Dawn O’Porter

View profile →

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

My Auntie Jane. She took me in, aged 10, and, after my mother died, healed my broken heart by filling our dining room with food and people. Still cooking at the grand old age of 89. My icon.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 15 August 2026 source ↗