Ashley Walters: Who alive today do you admire most, and what draws you to them?

The question

Who alive today do you admire most, and what draws you to them?

Originally asked

The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A

The Guardian's Q&A repeatedly uses this prompt, sometimes dropping 'living' while retaining the same comparative judgment.

You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.

Ashley Walters

British actor and rapper

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here

My mum – I've watched her struggle financially, emotionally, mentally even, and she's come through it.

The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 27 January 2012 source ↗

Others on this question

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Tuppence Middleton

Anyone who can pick up a house spider with their bare hands.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 9 May 2026 source ↗

Lil Nas X American rapper

I have to say myself, because I know everything that he’s been through and still continues to go through. I admire him. So I vote me – I like him.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 18 May 2024 source ↗

Dominic West English actor

Stacey Dooley. She does incredible documentaries – in one, she took spoiled British kids to the Philippines to work in a factory. It’s exactly what my kids need to watch.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 29 December 2018 source ↗

Michelle Visage

Madonna, she is a trailblazer. She changed the face of pop music for women. She did so much for the Aids movement, encouraging people to vote and the voices of LGBTQIA+ people. Fashion icon, music icon – she deserves all the credit.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 20 January 2024 source ↗