Simon Mayo
English radio presenter and author
I was the subject of a Celeb cartoon in Private Eye. I’ve a copy hanging in the downstairs toilet.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Question
Which moment embarrassed you most?
Failure & regret
Question
When was the last time you changed your mind about something?
Change of mind
Question
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Values & belief
Question
What is the worst job you have done?
Craft & work
Question
What would you like to be remembered for?
Death & what remains
Question
When were you happiest?
Time & hindsight
Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
Verbatim recurring item in The Guardian Q&A; two fully readable publisher-hosted respondent pages establish institutional recurrence.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
Building my mum her dream home.
The Q&A, The Guardian, 28 March 2026 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 192 →In the Pet Shop Boys song Being Boring they’ve a great line that says “I never dreamed that I would get to be the creature that I always meant to be”. And I feel I am, so that’s great.
Joanna Scanlan
British actress and writer
Having someone to love.
Bryan Adams
Canadian singer-songwriter and musician
Paying my rent and being able to support my family from making music.
More from Johannes Radebe
View profile →When my trousers split on stage in Burn the Floor in Australia. I had always been warned to wear my flesh underwear and I did not that day.
I almost pulled out of my first solo tour because of impostor syndrome.
Lack of empathy and compassion.
In South Africa I washed cars, I danced in parking lots and shopping malls, and was a children’s entertainer.
As someone who cared boldly about people, stood firmly for what he believed in and lifted others when they needed help.
When my UK citizenship was approved. It’s taken me eight years and lots and lots of money. I was at home in South Africa when I received the news and my mum said, “I am so happy for you because this is your glitterball.”
More on craft & work
- What is the worst job you have done? 229 answers
- How do you know when a piece of work is finished? 67 answers
- What do you do when you feel creatively blocked or stuck? 66 answers
- How does a new work begin for you? 63 answers
- How much rewriting or revision do you do? 46 answers
- What is the part of your job that people would be surprised is most of your job? 41 answers
Also answered this
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