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The Q&A, The Guardian, 27 September 2025 source ↗
I had quite a chequered childhood. I had a knife put to my throat once when I was a kid, which was very scary.
A horse-riding accident when I was about 15.
I was almost run over by a bus when I was 13. And in 1991, in the Gulf war, an Iraqi missile hit close to my house.
I don’t think I’ve ever been close to death but I am a nervous flyer, especially during turbulence, so there have been many times where I’ve felt that I was.
I would be less naive.
Less time on my phone.
It was reading out loud, but no longer. (I am dyslexic.) I was encouraged by my husband to do a speech for the Royal National Institute of Blind People, which helped me gain my confidence, and the fear disappeared.
I’m a bit of a hoarder.
The children. As a mother you are constantly worrying whether you’ve done the right thing.
Honest, empathetic, daring.
Tuppence Middleton, Zack Polanski, Mathew Horne, Graydon Carter, Kathy Lette, Milton Jones
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