I was inspired to click and connect by a Rolling Stone...

JILLY JOHNSON: FROM GLAMOUR GIRL TO GLAMOROUS GRAN

- Jaymi McCann

WHEN former model Jilly Johnson was considering a new hobby she decided to take inspiration from Rolling Stone rocker Ronnie Wood...and start knitting.

Jilly, one of Britain’s biggest modelling stars of the 1970s and 80s, has revealed she was on a flight when she spotted the reformed wildman of rock crafting his own knitwear.

Since then she has fallen in love with knitting and shows off her creations on her Instagram account.

But she describes it has her “guilty pleasure”, because it many not be too good for her glamorous image.

Jilly, 69, revealed: “I always had a bit of a hankering to do it, but it has that granny image, which can be off-putting.

“But I can recall sitting next to Ronnie Wood on a flight and seeing him knitting and I thought, ‘If it’s rock’n’roll enough for a Rolling Stone then it’s rock’n’roll enough for me’.

“I used to be a real globe trotter, living in the fast lane, meeting wonderful people. So this is a bit different from that. It isn’t quite as glamorous.

“My husband doesn’t think it is the most exciting project I’ve ever done, he is a bit underwhelmed, but I love it.

“It isn’t really good for the image is it? But It is my guilty pleasure.”

Born in Queensland, Australia, Jilly’s family moved to Surrey when she was eight years old. She was discovered as a model at 16 before becoming one of the first Page 3 girls.

Her modelling career saw her shooting campaigns in the grand cities of Europe, and travelling to the Caribbean to be photographed in high-end swimwear. Life was so hectic she famously once had to phone hotel reception to find out what country she was in.