Penny Lancaster has said husband Sir Rod Stewart will “come back stronger than ever” following a heart operation which saw him cancel tour dates.

The 55-year-old said Sir Rod, 81, “can’t wait to see his fans again” having had “so many wonderful well wishes and support”, after he cut short his tour in the US and Mexico this year, which was due to stretch into September.

She told the Press Association: “He’s back at full speed in his day-to-day activities, but doctor’s orders were to kind of postpone or cancel the current tour, because you know the risk factors involved.

“I did have to explain to the doctor what Rod’s performances are like, he doesn’t just sit down on a stool or behind a piano, he runs around for nearly two hours with four different costume changes because he’s sweating through everything.

“So, I compared him to either a boxer coming out of his dressing room on the way to the ring, or either a horse coming out the blocks, I mean, he runs on and he’s like, you know, straight into it, 100 miles an hour and doesn’t stop.

“It’s like running a sprint for him, so just for precaution that tour unfortunately had to be cancelled, which he was devastated about.

“I mean he does not sit down, I can never find him, he’s, you know, he’s got his hobbies, I mean he’s just been in the gym working out, but we were under strict instructions about the level of workout he could do, and it’s a gradual, build him up, build him up, kind of thing.

“But he’s going to come back stronger than ever, I found it hard enough as it was to slow him down so now he feels like he’s got a new lease of life.”

Sir Rod is expected to return for dates in the US next year.

Lancaster was speaking as she backed the Street Child charity’s Back To School campaign, which aims to get the public to pledge £4 per month to support a child’s education for a whole year, with the charity claiming that 79 million children around the world do not have access to education.

She said: “I remember first recognising Street Child when I saw the work that they were doing in Sierra Leone, and felt like I wanted to reach out, and I donated, but I wanted to see if there was other things I could do.

“So I’ve periodically been involved in some of their different campaigns and work that they’ve done, and tried to highlight their cause.

“Particularly as a mum, being in such a fortunate position that we are in, feeling so lucky that it’s one thing that we don’t have to worry about is, you know, providing the correct equipment, being able to afford to send our children to a great school.

“And I think, sadly, particularly these days, I don’t think children realise how lucky they are to go to school.

“You often hear kids going, ‘oh, I don’t like school’, or ‘I don’t like my teacher’, or kind of moaning and groaning, and there’s other children around the world that only wish they could go to school.

“Whether it’s a country that’s been devastated by a natural disaster and the infrastructure, and the roads are blocked, and they can’t get to schools, or there’s not enough trained teachers, or of course young girls that aren’t allowed to go to school.

“We just take it for granted because we live in a country like we do, it’s just unimaginable to think how awful that must be.”

The charity says those who set up a gift before September will directly help Street Child commit to getting a child back to school this term.

Those wishing to donate can do so from the charity’s website, street-child.org/back-to-school.