The former model, who works as a special constable one night a week, has revealed Sir Rod Stewart is jumpy about her job. But Penny, 50, said: “He’s got over the initial nerves of, ‘I’m not going to be able to sleep until you come home’.
“I can’t really message him on the job. But I always text him when I get back to the station to reassure him before he puts his head down.
“He sees the joy I get out of it. But now he also sees my confidence.
“And he’s proud I’m raising the positive profile of the police and helping support police charities.”
Penny, who stands 6ft 1in in her City of London Police plod-hopper boots, spent her Friday shift until 4am on foot patrol with divisional commander Ian Miller.
Her hastily-grabbed Tesco meal-deal dinner was a far cry from the Michelin-starred dishes she often shares with Sir Rod, 76.
Loose Women panellist Penny said: “Sometimes I have to pinch myself. I’m in all these glamorous outfits and then I’ve got to get to the police station on time.
“It’s not a fashion show, but the trousers are the worst fit and super-thick like cardboard ‑ because they expect you might be rolling around and grappling on the floor. One of the girls advised that maybe I should try the men’s trousers as they fit better.”
But Penny does love one part of her uniform. She admitted: “I like to wear open-toed shoes like my Jimmy Choos for photoshoots as I’m uncomfortable in pointy sandals… but even they are not as comfy as my police boots.”
Penny, mum to Alastair, 15, and Aiden, 10, joined the police after appearing on Channel 4’s Famous And Fighting Crime reality show in 2019. She qualified as an officer in April.
Penny told a magazine the TV show did not reveal her first agony on the job ‑ when she tried to resuscitate a heart attack victim who didn’t make it.
She said: “I’m quite good at following instructions and taking all the emotion out of it. Afterwards I cried. But the police are really good because they help you deal with your emotions after any trauma.”
She previously spoke of saving the life of a suicidal man on a bridge on another shift. Penny is now patron of Care of Police Survivors (Cops), a charity for families of police officers and staff who have died on duty.
She said: “Putting a uniform on is like putting a disguise on. Occasionally people recognise me but they’re very respectful. They just say, ‘Oh, Penny, hi’.
“My only concern was how my fellow officers might have treated me. But I’m bona fide now and they’ve welcomed me into the family.
“I describe myself as a kind of force of nature ‑ I always run towards the danger.”
