Penny Lancaster has revealed she was threatened with a needle by a drug addict as she filmed a new TV show.
During Wednesday’s Loose Women, the star said she joined the police as a volunteer officer as part of a Channel 4 reality show called Famous and Fighting Crime – which will see a string of famous faces go on the front line to deal with real life calls to 999.
Speaking about the moment she was threatened, Penny, 47, admitted she was left “terrified” as she only had a stab vest to protect herself.
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Penny said: “All I had was a stab vest.
“I couldn’t arrest because I didn’t have handcuffs, I didn’t have a taser or haze spray or a baton, so I didn’t have anything to protect myself other than the backup.”
She continued: “There was lady I was chasing who had committed a possible crime and theft from a shop.
“When she slowed down, I realised that she was a drug addict. She was literally frothing at the mouth, dark circles, shaking, and as I approached her she threatened me with her needle.
“We had a warning she’s been caught previously and threatened a shop keeper with her needle. At that point I was terrified.”
Penny – who is married to rock legend Sir Rod Steward – admitted doing the show has lit a fire in her.
She told her co-stars: “Being a police volunteer, I felt like I was on the front line and reaching out to those people, and making a difference in their lives.”
Now, Penny is keen to fully embrace the role beyond the show, and she revealed she got more out of the experience than she ever expected.
She added: “I’ve embraced it. The prospect of becoming a police officer and get involved on the front line, and getting to grips with the local community really appealed to me.
“It sounded exciting – I thought, what a fantastic experience. But that was just on the surface.
“When I actually got involved it was far more serious than that to the point that I was doing long shifts, getting home at four in the morning and my husband was terrified at the stories I would tell him.”
While her rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle was brought up, the former model explained it was a big reason behind her decision to volunteer.
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She said: “Rod and I, obviously living a very privileged life, I always liked the idea of giving back.”
The show certainly went beyond what she expected, given that Penny thought she might be spending time answering calls rather than being on the front line herself.
She added: “It was sitting in the briefs, stab vest, in the cop cars, out in the streets, literally responding to whatever call came through. So, you never knew what was round the corner.”
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