Penny Lancaster was overcome with emotion as she described how she was sexually assaulted as a teenage model. Discussing the #MeToo campaign with her fellow Loose Women panellists, Penny, 46, revealed: "In my late teens I had a job with a fashion designer and he invited me to an event. I was interested, I thought I'd get more work. I went with him and he said he had to stop at his apartment. He had a little bar in his apartment and said he'd pour me a drink while he went to pick up his bits."
The TV star tried to maintain her composure as she continued: "Like in the series Liar, my drink was drugged and I can't remember much of what happened. I just know he was on top of me enjoying the experience, but I certainly wasn't. I don't remember much more. I was too afraid to tell anybody."
© Photo: RexPenny revealed she was sexually assaulted as a teenager
Penny, who married musician Rod Stewart in 2007, couldn't face telling her parents. She explained: "I was just naive, I trusted him. I had never had sex at that point so it was a frightening thing. I didn't tell my mum and dad because I thought they'd say, 'What on earth were you doing going back to his house?' But he was I guy I'd worked with, and he promised I'd meet other people. You try to pretend it never happened... I was too afraid to tell anybody."
The mother-of-two opened up about her experience as she and her Loose Women co-stars discussed the #MeToo social media campaign. People around the world have been using the hashtag to share their horrific stories of sexual harassment and assault.
© Photo: Rex"I was just naive, I trusted him," she said
Penny concluded by urging mothers to support their daughters if they go through similar ordeals. "Mothers, if your daughter is able to come and talk to you about it, they have to know they won't be told off, it's not their fault they're not guilty, the other person is," she said. "I don't want to make my children frightened, I just want to make them aware, let them know they should come to you if anybody touches you."
