Now. I’ve moved to Hertfordshire after 25 years in London, got a fiancee and a dog, so everything has fallen into place.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 22 October 2022 source ↗
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.
Now. I’ve moved to Hertfordshire after 25 years in London, got a fiancee and a dog, so everything has fallen into place.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 22 October 2022 source ↗
When I had my first kid and when I had my first big success with I Gotta Feeling.
My childhood. I was an only child, happy and secure, and there was always plenty of time to play cricket.
When our children were born.
Happiness is mostly intrinsic: you’re either a happy soul or a miserable bastard. Fortunately, I’m the former.
Katy Perry. I hired a Russell Brand lookalike as a joke for the radio, and she thought it was actually him. When she realised it wasn’t, she burst into tears. She was still married to him, but I didn’t take into account that there were things going on that we didn’t know.
I went on a private jet with David Hasselhoff, and it was so turbulent between LA and Vegas I thought it was going down. I also thought: “The headline won’t be about me; it will be: David Hasselhoff and friend.”
Still biting my nails.
When I left Radio 1: full snotty sobbing on air.
Heights. For Children in Need, I had to abseil off the Orbit in the Olympic Park. It was the most terrifying thing I’ve done.
I splash out on holidays and scented candles – I’ve got one that my fiancee won’t let me light, so it’s just for show.
Jimmy Kimmel, Helen George, Ethan Hawke, Clive Myrie, Joanne Froggatt, Helen Mirren
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