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.

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Dawn O'Porter

British writer, director, and television presenter

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

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Hillary Clinton Former U.S. Secretary of State and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee

Losing is my biggest regret, and losing to someone who was not qualified and did not have the experience or the temperament to be president of the United States. That is my biggest regret.

Recorded Tamara Keith, NPR interview about What Happened, 12 September 2017 source ↗

Adeel Akhtar British actor

After I got arrested, my dad, a lawyer, took me to a QC to try to build a case against the FBI. The dejection on his face when it became obvious that we couldn’t was disappointing.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 19 May 2018 source ↗

Jimmy Savile English media personality and sex offender

Never having been a 100% sex symbol. I only managed 99.9%.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 26 May 2007 source ↗

Kate Nash British musician

That all the cliches about people in the music industry are true.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 25 May 2019 source ↗

More from Dawn O'Porter

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

A drunk woman who threw epic dinner parties.

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

Question What thought won't let you sleep? Daily life

Perimenopausal anxiety, the terrible feeling of impending doom, something awful happening to my children, writing deadlines. Apart from that, I’m quite chilled.

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

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

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