Kelly Brook was nicknamed 'Smelly Parsnips' at school.

The 40-year-old model picked up the humorous moniker during her school days because it was similar to her real name, which is Kelly Parsons.

Speaking on her Heart FM radio show, Kelly explained: ''My real name is Kelly Parsons and they used to call me Smelly Parsnips because it rhymes.''

Kelly admits that she had to warn people to stop calling her by the name when she started dating.

She told co-host Jason King: ''Imagine sending that email, saying 'You know, I've met this Prince, so can you just stop calling me Smelly Parsnips.'''

Meanwhile, Kelly recently explained that men can't cope with her being a ''40-year-old girl''.

The star - who graced the covers of lads' magazines in her 20s - revealed she has been taunted by trolls who suggested that she was past her best.

Brook said: ''Men are like 'you're past your best', or 'you were sexy once', but whatever, you're always going to get that.

''When you grow up with someone you don't want them to get older, it's weird. And I get it, people remember me as this pin-up girl.

''Then they see me as this 40-year-old fat girl and they're like no! I get it, it's funny. But people grow up, people get bigger, people change, it happens.''

Kelly added that she had put on weight during the coronavirus lockdown, and said she hasn't been feeling ''great'' about herself lately.

She explained: ''I learnt many life lessons during lockdown, like how to bake the perfect sourdough pizza and how to make the tastiest homemade ice cream!

''Whilst it's really important to show the world that not all beauty is a size eight - on the other hand, for me lockdown led to lots of daily 'snacksidents', the inevitable weight gain and not feeling so great about myself.''