The Lady Stewart | |
|---|---|
 Lancaster in 2008 | |
| Born | Penelope Claire Lancaster (1971-03-15)15 March 1971 (age 54)[citation needed] |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Modelling information | |
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[1] |
| Hair colour | Blonde |
| Police career | |
| Branch | Special Constabulary |
| Service years | City of London Police, 2020–present |
| Rank | Special Constable |
Penelope Claire Lancaster, Lady Stewart (born 15 March 1971) is an English model and television personality. She is married to rock singerRod Stewart. In 2014, she joined theITV lunchtime showLoose Women. She appeared as a panellist from 2014–2019 returned in 2021 and returned permanently from 2024 onwards.
Lancaster was born inChelmsford, Essex, England, on 15 March 1971, to Graham and Sally and has a brother named Oliver.[2][3] At the age of six, Lancaster took up dance, includingtap,ballet andmodern. At 16, she gave up because of her height and decided thataerobics would better suit her frame, and six years later she became a certifiedfitness trainer. It was during this time that she was spotted by a model scout, who suggested she should consider a career inmodelling. Lancaster suffers from a chronic sweat problem calledhyperhidrosis.[4]
Throughout the 1990s, Lancaster was in a long-term relationship with city trader Mickey Sloan. They lived inBermuda from 1996 to 1998 but separated in 1999.
Around this time, Lancaster decided to learn about the other side of modelling and began takingphotography classes.[2]
In 2002, Lancaster signed up to be the face of designer lingerie brandUltimo for £200,000. Although she was a success at promoting the brand—raising its profile, especially in the United Kingdom—two years later, Lancaster's contract was not renewed.[5][6] She was replaced in the role byRod Stewart's ex-wifeRachel Hunter. Lancaster soon signed a deal worth five times her Ultimo contract with another top modelling agency, Elite New York. Ultimo's decision to replace her, dubbed Bra Wars by the British press, was seen as a publicity stunt,[7] which infuriated Stewart, who described Ultimo's founderMichelle Mone as "manipulative".[8] However, two of Stewart's daughters—Kimberly andRuby—have since modelled for Ultimo.
Lancaster was one of fourteen celebrities taking part in thefifth series ofStrictly Come Dancing in 2007. In week 4, she was revealed as one of the bottom two participants. She and her dancing partnerIan Waite were in the week six dance-off withMatt Di Angelo and were voted off.
Performances
| Week # | Dance | Judges' score | Result | |||
| Horwood | Phillips | Goodman | Tonioli | |||
| 1 | Swing | Group Performance - Not Judged | ||||
| 2 | Quickstep | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | Safe |
| 3 | Jive | 5 | 6 | 7 | 7 | Safe |
| 4 | Samba | 8 | 7 | 9 | 8 | Bottom Two |
| 5 | Foxtrot | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | Safe |
| 6 | Salsa | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | Eliminated |
On 15 September 2014, Lancaster was billed as an occasional panellist on the lunchtime TV chat showLoose Women. She made four subsequent appearances during her first series. Through series 20 and 21 Lancaster started appearing on the show more regularly, usually twice per month. However, from series 22, Lancaster returned to appearing much more infrequently, making a total of six appearances. This was followed by a further ten appearances in series 23 and four in series 24. In series 25, she appeared more frequently and was a regular panellist. In the current series, she has not yet appeared as a panellist but has appeared as a guest.[9] She has not officially left the show.
In January 2018, Lancaster participated inAnd They're Off! in aid ofSport Relief.
In January 2019, she appeared in an episode ofCelebrity Catchphrase. In February 2019, she appeared inFamous and Fighting Crime alongside fellow celebritiesJamie Laing,Katie Piper,Sandi Bogle andMarcus Brigstocke onChannel 4. In 2021, Lancaster was a competitor on BBC'sCelebrity MasterChef.[10] She made it as far as her quarter final, losing out toMelanie Sykes andMegan McKenna.[11] In 2024, Lancaster's husband,Rod Stewart, accusedMasterChef hostGregg Wallace of humiliating Lancaster when she appeared on the show and arranging for the incidents when this happened to be "cut" from the aired programme. The accusation was made in the context of a BBC announcement of an enquiry into allegations against Wallace of sexual harassment of women on theMasterChef set.[12]
In June 2024 she appeared onMichael Mcintyre's The Wheel
In 2020, after appearing on Channel 4'sFamous and Fighting Crime, Lancaster joined theCity of London Police as a volunteerspecial constable.[13] In April 2021, she completed her training to become a special police constable and is now fully qualified.[14] She was on policing duties duringthe Queen’sfuneral and the coronation of King Charles III.[15][16]
In 1999, Lancaster met singer Rod Stewart when he agreed to let her take photos of him on tour.[17] A romance soon developed and they began a seven-year courtship. Lancaster gave birth to their first child in 27 November 2005.[18] Lancaster and Stewart married on 16 June 2007 at La Cervara nearPortofino, Italy.[19] On 17 February, 2011, it was announced that Lancaster had given birth to their second child (Stewart's eighth).[20]
Lancaster is an ambassador for Penny for London, a charity helping young people escape poverty, supported byNorthern & Shell, the former parent company of theDaily Express,Goldman Sachs,Barclaycard andVISA.[21] She is also a vice-president of theRoyal National Institute of Blind People.[22] She is also Patron of the UK Care Of Police Survivors charity.
At the age of 46, Lancaster was diagnosed withdyslexia.[23]
