Penny Lancaster was diagnosed with dyslexia as an adult and she opened up about her experience of the condition on Wednesday, in a special – and very moving – edition of Loose Women.
Her co-star Charlene White began the conversation by asking the mum-of-two: "You were a late diagnosis, weren't you?" "Very late," Penny responded.
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She went on: "During my school period I was always labelled as 'Penny gets easily distracted, she can't focus'… My biggest fear was [when] you're asked to stand up and speak… With dyslexia, the words end up jumping about and moving, and there's hardly any spaces between one word and the next, so it's frightening."
WATCH: Loose Women's Penny Lancaster opens up about 'frightening' condition in heartfelt interview
The programme also saw the panellists speak to former government minister Matt Hancock about his experience of the condition.
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Although Penny had difficulties with reading since childhood, she wasn't diagnosed until 2018, when she was 46 years old.
© Photo: RexPenny talked about her experience on Loose Women
In an interview with the Mirror at the time, the star revealed that she had long suspected she was dyslexic before asking to be tested.
She also credited her husband, Sir Rod Stewart, who she married in 2007, with giving her the confidence to address her learning difficulty.
"I'm dyslexic – something I've always known and kept secret until I recently got diagnosed," she shared.
© Photo: RexPenny's husband Rod is her biggest supporter
She went on: "Rod has given me so much confidence. 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."
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