Model Lily Cole reveals reason she nearly scrapped her book

Lily Cole has said she nearly did not publish her new book because she feared it would attract personal attacks and scrutiny.

The model and activist wrote Who Cares Wins: Reasons For Optimism In Our Changing World in an attempt to tackle issues around sustainability, the environment and global inequality.

However, the 32-year-old said the book, which features interviews with Sir David Attenborough and Tesla co-founder Elon Musk, nearly did not make it to print.

Cole told Radio Times: “There was a time when I was considering not publishing this because I could see I was bringing into my life the possibility of personal attack or scrutiny.

“Right at the end, after all the work, I emailed my agent and publisher, trying to get out of it.

“My lovely agent, who’s very wise, said ‘Take a few extra months, think about it and come back to it.’

“I eventually decided that what was stopping me was my own selfish fear about how it could personally impact me.

“The issues I am talking about are more important than me worrying about my own persona.”

Cole, who was born in Devon and raised in west London before attending Cambridge University, suggested she comes from a less wealthy background than is often assumed.

She said: “The media often think that I come from a different social class to the one I actually come from.

“I come from a very poor background and I feel I have had very diverse experiences.

“My work has taken me into affluent environments and places of privilege, but I have also travelled the world and visited communities that are far less privileged.”

Cole rose to fame in her teens as a model before claiming acting roles in St Trinian’s and Elizabeth I.

– Read the full interview in Radio Times.