Abbey Clancy has hit back at critics who slammed her decision to allow her daughter Sophia, eight, to model in a new campaign for Next's Lipsy range of clothes. The mum-of-four stars alongside her eldest child in a stunning photoshoot for the brand, but faced heavy criticism from parents who claimed Sophia is far too young to be launched into the modelling world.
Appearing with Sophia on ITV's Lorraine on Thursday, Abbey insisted that she didn't force her daughter to model. When asked by Lorraine Kelly if she thought her daughter was too young, Abbey said: "I just think there's so much other stuff going on in the world. Any excuse to have a bit of fun and make a special memory with your daughter. It's something I would never push her into doing. She really wanted to do it. It was a great day."
Abbey has defended her decision to allow Sophia to model
MORE: Peter Crouch has ruled out having more children with wife Abbey Clancy
She added: "Having four children, spreading my time equally between the four is hard. I really appreciated having a special day with Sophia and some pics to put on the wall." Abbey and husband Peter Crouch, 38, welcomed their fourth child Jack four months ago, and also share daughter, Liberty, four, and son Johnny, 20 months.
Abbey and Sophia star in a new campaign for Lipsy
MORE: Emmerdale's Charley Webb finally reveals reason behind son Bowie's hair transformation
Appeasing her naysayers even more, Abbey admitted that the shoot was not a serious career launch for her daughter, who could possibly change her mind about her love for modelling any day. She added: "I've had a great career. I've never come across any problems or felt uncomfortable situations. I personally think life is too short. You have to do what you love and enjoy. She wants to be a model, today. She might want to be a vet, popstar, doctor, footballer… I just want her to be happy."
Like this story? Sign up to our newsletter to get other stories like this delivered straight to your inbox.