Born in Cardiff, Chris Bryant, 63, was an Anglican priest before going into politics. He became Labour MP for Rhondda (now Rhondda and Ogmore) in 2001 and was deputy leader of the House of Commons from 2008 to 2009. He is minister of state for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. His latest book is A Life and a Half: The Unexpected Making of a Politician. He lives with his husband in Rhondda and London.
What is your greatest fear?
Totalitarianism in Europe.
Which living person do you most admire, and why?
Zelenskyy for holding out against Putin.
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
Showing off.
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Showing off.
What was your most embarrassing moment?
An earthquake in Peru forced me and a young man into the street, where he had to introduce me to his family at three in the morning.
Describe yourself in three words
Brave, naughty, diligent.
What would your superpower be?
Time travel, so I could check the facts behind accepted versions of history.
What makes you unhappy?
Feeling powerless to change the world.
What do you most dislike about your appearance?
One eye is bigger than the other.
If you could bring something extinct back to life, what would you choose?
Reasoned debate.
Who would play you in the film of your life?
Daniel Craig.
What is your most unappealing habit?
Correcting other people’s grammar.
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
The Doctor in Doctor Who. I still do.
What is the worst thing anyone’s said to you?
The melanoma has returned in your lung.
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What is your guiltiest pleasure?
Singing along to Les Misérables in the car. I know all the words in English and French.
To whom would you most like to say sorry, and why?
Mum, because I never really knew how to cope with her alcoholism.
What has been your biggest disappointment?
Losing the 1992 general election.
If you could edit your past, what would you change?
I’d have reported the tutor who asked me to read an essay to him sitting on the toilet as he lay soaping himself in the bath.
When did you last change your mind about something significant?
When I worked out I was gay and decided to leave the church at 29.
What single thing would improve the quality of your life?
A dog, though my husband would prefer a cat.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Getting elected as MP for the Rhondda in 2001 despite everyone saying I was too “exotic” or “flamboyant”, ie gay.
What has been your closest brush with the law?
Suing the Metropolitan police to force them to reveal that the News of the World had hacked my phone.
Would you rather have more sex, money or fame?
Yes.
