Penny Mallory is one of the few women in the world of rally driving and motoring journalists who is highly respected as an expert. She is one of the most successful women rally drivers ever and the first woman in the world to drive a World Rally Car (the Formula One of rallying).She co presents ITV’s ’The Used Car Roadshow’ and does the occasional report for GMTV.

An accomplished broadcaster she has presented Channel 4’s highly successful series, ‘Driven’, World Rally Championships, ‘Accident Blackspots’ and narrated the ‘Conquest of Everest’, 50th Anniversary DVD as the descendant of the legendary mountaineer, George Mallory. Discovery’s ‘Classic Car Club’ .

Penny had a passion for all things mechanical from an early age and a real love of engineering. At just fourteen years of age she ran away from her home in Kent to London and eventually found refuge and support in homeless hostels. She realised that to change her situation she would have to apply herself and in time worked her way to becoming a sound engineer and a graphic artist. A chance event allowed her to realise a childhood dream of driving a rally car and she was hooked. Despite being just in her early twenties she was told that she was too old and the wrong sex to start this sport. After just three months of learning how to drive a rally car, she’d put together a two-year sponsorship deal and in 1993 became the National Ladies Champion. Her unique and inspirational story shows there is no limit to what you can achieve with will power and commitment.

Penny is always pushing barriers and continues to learn new skills every year. She has just got a Diploma with Distinction in Life Coaching covering counselling, psychotherapy and NLP. She has always had to be at peak fitness for rallying and developed this interest further, training for the last year to be a boxer. She continues preparing for her teacher training qualification too. Alongside this Penny looks after her two young daughters, Alfie the dog and for one day a week she is a volunteer worker at her local Category B Prison, working with young offenders.

Her guest features include writing and presenting her own strand 'Dashboard Divas' for This Morning (ITV). ‘Watch Dog’ BBC, Britain’s Worst Roads’ BBC and a thirteen part series for BBC UK Style 'Can Ski Will Ski', her own consumer series ‘Top Dog’ and presenting the flag ship live series, ‘Men and Motors Live’ both on Granada.

Penny enjoys getting the best out of life and is keen to help others achieve this also. She ran the Marathon for Bernardos and is an Ambassador for the Duke of Edinburgh Awards Scheme and also an Ambassador for Investors in People.

 

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