Penny Lancaster has opened up about the extent of her bullying ordeal at school, revealing that on one particularly distressing occasion, a boy rammed his bike into her legs until she bled. During an appearance on Lorraine, Penny, who is campaigning for Anti-Bullying Pupil Ambassadors for The Diana Award charity, said: "In general bullying is because you're different, however that difference might be.
"For me I was not just taller than the girls, I was taller than all the boys. My hair was always slicked back very neatly because I did ballet at the time, people picked on me for being too smart, too tall, I spoke nicely and I didn't want to swear, so I was picked on from that."
© Photo: Rex"I had rubbers and pencils and things thrown at me from the back of the classroom," she said
Penny revealed: "I had rubbers and pencils and things thrown at me from the back of the classroom on my first day of school. I remember walking home from school one day, a boy on his bike ramming it into the back of my legs until they bled… Teasing, slapping me on the head – if it wasn't one thing it was the other."
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Rod Stewart's wife also shared an old photo of herself at school and reflected: "[I feel] sorry for that little girl, feeling sad for her. It's very hard for me to identify to her: I got through it, I became successful. I think a lot of young people can do the same thing. If they can get through it by talking to other people and getting advice."
Penny Lancaster shared this throwback school photo
The Diana Award is raising funds to train Anti-Bullying Ambassadors, so that children who are bullied at school have someone to go to for support. Penny, 48, bravely shared her story and encouraged her fans to share theirs as she took to Instagram to post a throwback photo.
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"My #Back2SchoolStory. I'm supporting @dianaaward @antibullyingpro this is my story," she wrote. "My message is to always share your story, talk to someone, a trouble shared is a trouble halved. Please join by sharing your #back2school photo, tagging @dianaaward @antibullyingpro and sharing your advice. For more info go to back2school.antibullyingpro.comthe charity is trying to train students as Anti-Bullying Ambassadors in every school."
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