Loose Women star Penny Lancaster appeared on ITV’s Lorraine on Thursday
Penny Lancaster admitted “it’s painful” as she revealed a personal struggle.
The Loose Women panellist appeared on ITV’s Lorraine on Thursday (October 9), where she chatted to presenter Lorraine Kelly about her new book, Someone Like Me.
The autobiography sees Penny reveal her complete story for the first time, with a “natural empathy and humour” that she hopes will assist others on their own life journey.
During her interview on Lorraine, Penny discussed her “unusual” family circumstances with husband Rod Stewart, whilst also revealing her past encounters with bullying.
“It’s an unusual family that you and Rod [have], but you got everybody together. And that’s such an interesting part of the book where you just said, ‘Do you know what, we’re all part of the family. Let’s just all get on well together,'” Lorraine said, reports the Express.
Penny Lancaster appeared on ITV’s Lorraine on Thursday(Image: ITV)
Penny responded: “It’s true, Lorraine, and it did take a lot of patience, but you work through these things. From a very young age, I was bullied at school for all sorts of different reasons.
“My mum instilled in me a lesson, ‘Yes, of course you’re suffering and it’s painful to go through, but try to look at the other perspective. Try and look at why the person that’s doing the bullying is doing it in the first place. There must be something that they’re dealing with.’
“And it did help me shed a few of my concerns and look at other people’s perspectives. And I think I’ve carried that throughout life. I think being bullied has given me the tools to deal with bullies in adulthood, which we all come across.”
During another part of the chat, Penny revealed her battle with undiagnosed dyslexia during childhood. She was finally diagnosed with the learning condition at the age of 46.
The Loose Women regular opened up about her bullying ordeal(Image: ITV)
“I’ve become an ambassador for the British Dyslexia Association and we’ve launched a campaign with Jamie Oliver to try and get the government to actually give free testing for all children.
“Because so many children to this day are slipping through the cracks, and proper training for teachers to understand the different learning skills that are traits of dyslexic people.”
Penny went on: “At school, I was pushed aside, like, ‘Oh, Penny’s dumb. She doesn’t pay attention. Put her at the back of the class and focus on the students that are willing to learn’.
“Of course, I was willing to learn, I just needed to be taught in a different way.”
Lorraine airs weekdays on ITV1 at 9am