For the season finale of Style DNA I go on a style journey with the English model, television personality, author and serving Police Constable the glorious Penny Lancaster.

Penny counts herself as incredibly lucky. She had a loving upbringing, her life with husband Rod Stewart has spanned continents, she’s made incredible friendships, become part of an amazing family and embraced motherhood. But it’s not all been plain-sailing. From being relentlessly bullied at school and underestimated because of undiagnosed dyslexia, Penny also experienced a harrowing sexual assault as a young girl. This has made her a staunch campaigner for women’s safety and, these days, she regularly puts in hours as a Special Constable for the City of London Police, where her primary concern is making the streets safe for women. She’s also navigated the challenges of having the weight of the world’s scrutiny thrust upon her in her twenties, undergone IVF treatment, supported her husband through a cancer diagnosis and overcome her own depression as she manoeuvred through menopause. Amongst a heady mix of royalty, rock legends and renegades, her story is one of resilience. 

Penny has recently published a book Someone Like Me,  and in it she tells her full story for the first time, with a natural empathy and humour that she hopes will help others on their own life journey. She shares her wisdom from hard-earned lessons, including “the shame” of a sexual assault,  showing that the key to navigating both storms and sunshine is staying true to you.

Penny is delightfully open about her struggles with her weight over the years…from being “too skinny” as a child, to “not skinny enough” when she started modelling and the lengths she went to to be  “model size”… all the way through to the side effects that several rounds of IVF, 2 pregnancies, lockdown eating and the menopause had on her body… she is still not fully comfortable in her own skin …

Of course I ask her about her life with Rod from how she met him (in a nightclub), to being whisked off to the Bahamas when she was still a student studying photography only to find a wardrobe full of designer clothes on arrival that Rod had personally selected and bought for her (so thoughtful and romantic in my book), to their personal struggles with health (his cancer diagnosis) and their wonderful life as a blended family.

When I ask her how Rod would describe her Style DNA in 3 words she immediately says Sexy Hot Legs… she is just that…and so much more, warm, self-deprecating and hugely grateful for the life that she lives.

I hope you enjoy this conversation. Thank you @penny.lancaster for being such a great guest xx