Rod Stewart's blistering attack on lingerie boss over Penny Lancaster feud

Rod Stewart once branded Michelle Mone a "manipulative cow" after she dropped Penny Lancaster from her lingerie brand. Penny, 54, became the face of Ultimo in 2002 but was sensationally axed just two years later.

Scottish businesswoman Mone, 53, decided to replace Lancaster with Stewart's ex-wife, Rachel Hunter. The former couple 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."

Stewart, 80, who started dating the former model in 1999, continued: "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?"

Lancaster's contract with the lingerie brand was worth £200,000-a-year, but Mone said she had always wanted Hunter to represent her company.

"Penny was cheaper, but she did a brilliant job for Ultimo," she said, admitting they couldn't afford Mone's whopping £1 million fee.

"Now that we have expanded we can afford Rachel," she added.

But the decision didn't sit well with the Maggie May hitmaker, who accused Mone of using his girlfriend to gain more publicity for the company.

"I think Michelle Mone is a nasty piece of work, I really do," he fumed. "She is a manipulative cow."

Confessing he was warned about Mone's alleged behaviour, he added: "I was told she was a devious, conniving, publicity-seeking son of a b**ch, I was told she was a user.

"If a business has to come to an end, it's finished. That's it and everyone should remain friends. To get kicked in the teeth like this is horrible. Michelle was determined to rub Penny's nose in it."

The star went on: "What an ungracious way to treat my girlfriend. I don't think Penny has got a single bad bone in her body. But Michelle's entire skeleton reeks of self-interest."