Penny Lancaster blasts 'spiteful' Michelle Mone as she speaks out on feud

Penny Lancaster has lashed out at her former boss Michelle Mone, branding her "spiteful". Lancaster, 54, and Mone's working relationship began in 2002 when she became the face of lingerie brand Ultimo. However, Mone, 53, sensationally dropped Lancaster the firm just two years later and replaced her with Rod Stewart's ex-partner Rachel Hunter. Stewart, who has been married to Lancaster since 2007, made his feelings clear at the time, calling Baroness Mone a "nasty piece of work" and "a manipulative cow".

While Lancaster has remained more coy on the matter, she has now echoed her husband's words in her new memoir, Someone Like Me, as she opened up on their 20-year feud. She offers a scathing assessment of Mone, claiming her actions were driven by "greed" and "spite." The Loose Women star writes in the memoir: "I found it nasty and a window into the heart of the person Mone truly is.

"The answer was simple: headlines, of course. Pitting Rod Stewart's ex-wife against Rod Stewart's current girlfriend generated more headlines than any publicity campaign ever could. In my view, it was cynical and ugly."

The opportunity to work with Ultimo came through Lancaster's agent in 2002. Despite not knowing much about the brand, Lancaster met with Mone and her then-husband Michael to discuss a potential collaboration.

Although the firm couldn't provide her with the standard rate for someone with her profile, Mone managed to convince Lancaster by "implying" that a business partnership would be possible "down the line".

Lancaster also claimed that Mone and her husband were forced to remortgage their house in order to sign her. It was reported her contract was worth £200,000, but Lancaster claimed she was paid "substantially below that" during her first year.

Despite her agent starting "loose negotiations" to renew her contract with Ultimo in July 2003, Lancaster discovered through the press that Hunter had replaced her as the face of the brand.

Stewart, 80, and Hunter 56, were married from 1990 to 2006, but split in 1999.

"I hope she chokes on her profits," the singer told a Scottish newspaper in 2004. "Michelle really needs to be put in her place and if this is revenge, so be it. I'm sticking up for my old lady."

"Penny doesn't want to admit it but she has been hurt by all this. She's been in tears. Penny is a beautiful girl. I love her and I hate to see her get hurt in this way. She did nothing wrong. Put yourself in her place - how do you think it feels to be told you're being replaced by Rod's wife?"