Penny Lancaster, 53, ‘so happy’ as she unveils exciting new work venture away from TV screens
Penny Lancaster, 53, has taken to Instagram to share a series of updates about an exciting new work project.
The model and TV presenter regularly steps into the limelight thanks to her role on ITV panel show Loose Women but now, Lancaster is embarking on a job close to her heart.
Rod Stewart’s, 79, other half revealed she’s signed up as an ambassador for the British Dyslexia Association after being diagnosed with the disorder herself.
Lancaster didn’t receive her diagnosis until her late 40s but a few years on, she’s keen to help those affected by dyslexia.
The British Dyslexia Association announced the news on Instagram with a post that read: “We are delighted to welcome @penny.lancaster as a BDA Ambassador.
“We want to take this opportunity to welcome Penny as a valued ambassador and look forward to working together on our shared goal, of building a dyslexia-friendly society.”
Lancaster reflected on her own struggles in a quote to the BDA in which she said: “I experienced fear when I sat school exams but I found joy when I passed my dyslexia test. Finally, I understood my challenges and was able to nurture my hidden talents.”
The Loose Women star shared the announcement on her social media page before adding in a post on her stories: “So happy to be on board!”
Lancaster has been open with her dyslexia diagnosis ever since she received confirmation of the learning difficulty.
She previously told the Mirror: “I’m dyslexic – something I’ve always known and kept secret until I recently got diagnosed. Rod has given me so much confidence.”
Touching upon how the Maggie May hitmaker helped her, Lancaster added to the publication: “Rod has never made me feel in any way like I can’t do things. I was asked to read a pledge at a charity event.
“I was in a panic but he said, ‘Go on, Pen, you can do it’. I could hear him cheering for me and I read out the words. I didn’t get them all right but I read them and I felt like bursting into tears afterwards because it was such a big deal for me.”
Struggles with her literacy skills began at a young age, with Lancaster also explaining: “My dad used to take me to extra English classes after one teacher said to him, ‘Why bother? She’ll never amount to anything.’ That just totally floored him.”
Lancaster has also discussed her diagnosis on Loose Women before, even inspiring her co-stars to take dyslexia tests to see if they too were dyslexic.
She explained: “During my school period, I was always labelled as, ‘Penny gets easily distracted, she can’t focus…’
“Now I’ve been diagnosed, I recognise that’s why I’m great at doing this and that.
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“Instead of relying on the written word, you might not be able to read that word very well, but you can read the room and you can read people.
“Instead of listening to the word, you’re listening to how they say the word and what they mean by that word.
“It’s looking outside of the box, the bigger picture and that’s a great skill set to have.”