AFTER spending the day in a canal boat with her husband, Rod Stewart, Penny Lancaster was spotted heading to work with City Police in London. The Special Constable carried a supermarket ‘meal deal’ for a shift which would finish at 4am, according to The Mirror.
Lancaster decided to join the force after a stint on the UK Channel 4's 'Famous and Fighting Crime' in 2019.
It was during an online chat with her 'Strictly Come Dancing' partner Ian Waite months later that the model and photographer first revealed her ambition to become a policewoman.
She said then: "I did a show called 'Famous and Fighting Crime' where I was involved in the police.
"It was terrifying, terrifying, but I never felt more comfortable in a position and I felt like this was where I was supposed to be. I have actually signed up to be an officer."
While Stewart fully supports her decision, Lancaster said she had to sit a number of tests to prove that she was qualified.
"I had to sit exams, English and maths-type of exams, and go for an interview with two officers. And then I did a fitness test, so I had to get fit for that, it was the bleep test – which was pretty tricky and I passed.
"Then I had to do this massive vetting form going through all personal details of myself, my family, people I know and all that kind of thing."
Earlier this year she spoke of how her work as a special constable often saw her patrol bridges. She had managed to help persuade one man from taking his own life.
Speaking on Gabby Logan's podcast The Mid Point, Lancaster said: "We look after the bridges. I think a lot of people because of the pandemic have been thinking of taking their life, sadly.
"It just so happened that this young man approached me holding prayer beads in his hands and was just crying and shaking and said 'I feel really suicidal, I don't know what to do, help me'.
"The priority was to assist him off the bridge and get him away from immediate danger and find a quiet place to sit and talk to him.
"Be that down-to-earth person, forget you've got a uniform and [I'm] a mother so I could empathise with him. [You] try to understand but of course, you can never really put yourself in someone's shoes like that.
"He opened up about his relationship with his parents, his father was very religious and was upset that he wasn't religious. His mother was calling, asking where he was because she was concerned.
"He was in second year of university, was struggling with all the Zoom calls and not being in contact with people.
"The first thing you do as well as getting them to safety is to call out a mental health triage nurse.
"She joined us after about 20 minutes so together we chatted and in the end, he felt happy and safe enough to go home.
"I later contacted him with my police device and made sure that he was safe and just to remind him that there is always someone out there that will help. It felt good."
Speaking to Hello! recently, Penny said Stewart was nervous about her new job but knew she was trying to set a good example to their sons Alastair, 15, and Aiden, 10.
She said: “I want to show my boys that it’s important to be whatever you want to be in life, and fulfil every part of yourself, even if it’s considered dangerous.
"At the end of the day, the police are the public and the public are the police. We’ve got the training and the powers to do our job and to protect life.” – The Vibes, August 3, 2021
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