IT WAS fun-loving Maria Falco who played Cupid when her friend Penny Lancaster spotted Rod Stewart at a club.
She dared Penny to ask for an autograph, sparking a romance that would lead to love and marriage for Rod and Penny. Now former model Penny has revealed the heartache of losing her friend to breast cancer aged just 39. Yesterday, in honour of Maria, Penny crossed the finishing line of a 10-mile trek to help raise thousands of pounds for Breast Cancer Care. Penny, 38, said: “I have a lot to thank her for. She changed my life. “A crowd of us ended up in a party at the Dorchester that night and when Maria saw Rod she dared me to go up and ask him for his autograph for her daughter Luisa. “It was so like Maria. She was such a bubbly, life-and-soul-of-the-party girl. Just great fun to be around.
“It’s still hard to believe that she’s not here.” Penny, who married Rod, 64, in Portofino, Italy, in 2007 said: “Everyone knows someone whose life has been affected by breast cancer.