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March 14, 2007 -- Daily Mail

Flash of pearlies from Hugh at Elton's star-studded party

Elton celebrated his 60th birthday (March 13th) in a joint party with artist and friend Sam Taylor-Wood, partner David Furnish, and a pearly king and queen!

While Sir Elton - who is also celebrating his 60th birthday - looked as if he was getting ready to inspect the May Day parade on Red Square, his partner David Furnish came in a US Marine captain's dress uniform, proving that yes, it really is true what they have been saying - the Cold War IS over.

The cavalcade of stars who turned up for the party at Shoreditch Town Hall included Hugh Grant, who opted for boring old black tie - and was forced to pay for his lack of flamboyance by posing with a Pearly King and Queen.

Sir Paul McCartney was in white tie and tails and his daughter Stella wore a long Army greatcoat just about covering her stocking-clad legs.

She and the rest of the women raised the temperature, style-wise.

Sting was among the many male guests who decided to cut a dash in a pin-striped gangster suit - but no one was more dashing than James Bond himself, Daniel Craig.

Among the other guests were Thandie Newton, Lulu, Barbara Windsor, the Osbournes, David Walliams, Natalie Imbruglia and Tom Ford.

MORE --- Entertainment Wise

The stars were out in force last night for photographer Sam Taylor Wood's 40th and Elton John's forthcoming 60th birthday celebrations at the £250,000 ($481,149) bash at Shoreditch Town Hall.

The theme was 40s glam and saw stars such as Kate Moss, Daniel Craig, Thandie Newton, Sir Paul McCartney, Stella McCartney dress up ­ joined by Barbara Windsor jumping out of the cake as a fairy!

A source tells the Daily Mirror: "The party was like stepping back in time. As soon as you entered there were pearly kings and queens serving champagne. It was a lavish affair with candelabras, white lilies and an 18-piece band.

The attention to detail was fantastic ­ there were even girls handing out chocolate cigars."

Elton john used the opportunity to make a speech: "He got on stage, said a few words and told a very rude joke, then Sam Taylor-Wood gave a very moving speech in which she said that, after suffering from cancer, she never thought she'd be around to see her 40th."

And it appears Paul McCartney was using the event to celebrate his divorce settlement to Heather Mills: "At one point, he evn grabbed pal Sting for a boogie. Despite what's going on his private life, Sir Paul looked very relaxed ­ so laidback he didn't even notice when his shirt came undone."

MORE --- Daily Mail

Sir Paul, 64, flung a series of dance partners around with apparent abandon.

A fellow reveller said: "With the swing band playing, he hardly stepped off the dancefloor all night.

"He was never alone and had different women clamouring to dance with him. He was in great spirits and it all added up to a fantastic evening.

Heather Mills is favourite to get booted off US show Dancing with the Stars BEFORE she has even performed - because she is so hated.

Sir Paul McCartney's estranged wife was hoping to win new fans by appearing on the US version of Strictly Come Dancing. But Mills is ODDS ON at 5-6 to be the first to go and is the 50-1 rank outsider to win, according to Ladbrokes. A spokesman said: "Regardless of how well Heather can dance, she's public enemy number one."

The ABC network website has been flooded with complaints Mills is appearing at all.

One wrote: "She's the ultimate gold-digger. I predict a speedy departure."

Another read: "She took Sir Paul for a ride, now she's taking us for one." More offensive posts were deleted from the site.

Despite the hostility, Mills told US TV's Good Morning America that practising the foxtrot for the show has been "a holiday, because my life is so mega-stressful and so busy". She even did a few steps with the breakfast show's host. And when Mills, 39, was asked if she was jittery, she said: "I don't really get nervous - unless I'm going to meet a potential mother-in-law."

A gambling website was yesterday taking bets on whether her false leg will FLY OFF.

Mills admitted she has a spare in case it breaks, adding: "It's very unlikely my leg's going to fly off."

Mills, who once posed for soft-porn shots,- also said she was once a "top model". But first hubby Alfie Karmel said she never made it in fashion modeling.

Sir Paul McCartney's estranged wife Heather Mills has upset autograph hunters in Los Angeles by turning down those who ask her to sign merchandise associated with the former Beatle.

The ex-model reportedly refused to pen her name on a copy of vintage Beatles album "Meet The Beatles" because of the link to her husband, who she is currently divorcing. When presented with the memorabilia, Mills is reported to have said, "You've got to be kidding - I refuse to sign this."

A source tells British newspaper the Daily Express, "She then shoved the album back at the man and stormed off.

"Given how acrimonious her divorce from Paul is turning out to be, it perhaps wasn't the best thing to ask her to inscribe."

Trophy wife turned toxic ex head for the U.S.

Heather Mills is trying to cha-cha her way into American hearts on the new season of 'Dancing with the Stars.' But those who've followed her checkered past say that remaking her image won't be easy.

She is the most hated woman in Britain - because of her questionable past and muckraking accusations against estranged husband Paul McCartney.

So when Heather Mills, nicknamed "Mucca" (a play on the much loved ex-Beatle's moniker "Macca"), waltzes onto our TV screens as a contestant on "Dancing With the Stars," there is far more at stake than winning a hit reality show.

The disabled former topless model is plotting an ambitious scheme to be "reborn in the U.S.A." and persuade the American public to take her to their hearts.

"I get nothing but support over here," she says of the United States, where she has a luxury home in the Hamptons. "People want to give me a hug."

But media commentators on either side of the Atlantic are divided on whether it will be more like the cold shoulder.

"There will be a lot of admiration for her as an amputee," says Tia Brown, senior editor of celebrity magazine In Touch, who is nevertheless skeptical that viewers will be interested enough in her story if she doesn't spill the beans on McCartney.

"She demonstrates how it's possible to succeed, even if you have suffered great tragedy in your life.

"By putting a playful spin on her false leg - saying it would be funny if it falls off during the show - she comes across as not taking herself too seriously."

Critics claim she's a phoney and it's precisely her arrogance that motivates her to conquer the States.

"In the first weeks after the divorce announcement, she laughably believed she had more friends than Paul McCartney," explains Ben Todd, editor-in-chief of the U.K.'s Zoo magazine. "She was deluded and resentful of his popularity.

"But she hasn't learned a lesson. She still thinks she can win America's sympathy."

Insiders believe McCartney's trophy wife-turned-toxic-ex, 39, is so sure of herself, she plans to live and work here permanently, just like Victoria (Posh Spice) Beckham, another popular target of the British press.

The move is particularly likely if, as expected, she agrees to drop her bid for sole custody of their 3-year-old daughter, Beatrice, to pocket a rumored $56 million divorce settlement.

TV critic Kevin O'Sullivan, of London's Sunday Mirror, says her compatriots will shout "Good riddance" in her wake.

"They think America is welcome to her," he adds, "but if the producers of 'Dancing With the Stars' think they've got a good contestant, they've got another thing coming.

"Apart from the obvious, grotesque freak show factor of her hobbling around on one leg, she will be absolutely rubbish.

"When she stood in for Larry King, she was so bad, she was like a fox caught in headlights.

"Now she is cashing in on the fact that, in America, the edges are blurred between fame and notoriety. In Britain, you can't just divorce someone rich and expect to be treated as if you're famous yourself.

"But McCartney is adored in the U.S. and I'm not sure Americans will be so foolish as to fall for her ploys."

For example, she took off her false leg when she was interviewed by King, brandished two more on her second appearance with him and has already removed the leg for her latest publicity shots.

Detractors argue she's a one-trick pony.

Across the pond, Mills- who has claimed in court papers that McCartney was violent during their marriage - has generated the kind of publicity Anna Nicole Smith might even have found shocking.

A clutch of former friends allege that she was a hooker who sold her body to rich Arabs, and her stepfather has disputed the incredible coincidence in her autobiography that her late mother nearly lost her leg in a car crash years before the model suffered her own such injury.

Bizarrely, she accused the TV producer she jilted for McCartney of being a gay government spy intent on wrecking her anti-land mine campaign and even pretended to be a respected writer by proudly showing articles written by a journalist with the same name.

Less damaging, but certainly embarrassing, Mills' book describes in breathless detail how she had sex with her boyfriend in her hospital bed after her leg was removed.

She also wrote that she slept in a cardboard box as a teenage runaway in London, while her puzzled stepfather said there was always a room for her in the family house.

It's no wonder PR experts recommend a complete image overhaul if she is to triumph in the States, where she has very publicly protested against the fur trade and is now reinventing herself as a UN goodwill ambassador. The wanna-be actress is reportedly also in talks with Los Angeles producers to appear in a new version of "Footballers' Wives."

First she needs to resist the urge to rant on her Web site, where she typically blames her problems on everyone else.

"She is relatively lucky because few Americans have read all the salacious and ugly reports about her in England," says New York crisis management guru Howard Rubenstein, who helped endear the U.S. public to the Duchess of York when she fell from grace in Europe. "Heather needs to look for a longer-term engagement than 'Dancing With the Stars' and cool down on criticizing people.

"If she appears on a few, selected TV shows and is asked about Paul, she should say: 'That's all in the past and I'm looking to the future with my child.' She needs to be positive and mean it."

But old habits die hard. "Heather enjoys confrontation," observes Ben Todd. "As long as she is in the spotlight - loved or loathed - she is happy."

Sir Paul McCartney is dumping the record label he has used for 43 years in a move which will prevent Heather Mills from earning millions from his future recordings. More here...

The former Beatle is turning his back on Capitol/EMI - who he has been with since the Beatles's first album in 1964 - and is penning a deal with a new label run by coffee makers Starbucks. In recent months, Sir Paul has been offered a £25 million ($48 million) advance for his next four albums from Capitol/EMI.

Being an advance which is payable immediately, Heather would have been able to stake a claim to half of it as part of their ongoing divorce. Industry sources claim that point was pivotal in Sir Paul's decision to let the deal lapse and refuse to renegotiate with the label so that Heather would not have access to the earnings. The pair are battling it out for McCartney's £825 million ($1.6 billion) fortune after splitting last May.

The new record deal emerged as Heather spoke publicly to rubbish reports at the weekend that they were close to coming to a divorce settlement. Miss Mills gave a statement to US show Entertainment Tonight, saying stories about a settlement had been "made-up". Reports at the weekend claimed Mills would drop her demand for sole custody of their daughter Beatrice in exchange for the staggering payout, which reportedly also included McCartney's mansion in London. In fact, a settlement is many months off, although Miss Mills has in recent days won a number of keys victories in court.

Sir Paul was previously rumoured to have shelved plans to tour while still married to Heather, so that she would not take any of the proceeds from playing live. Signing the new deal with Starbucks will also save him some £12.5 million ($24 million) - a half share - of the advance Capitol/EMI would have paid out for a four-album deal.

Sir Paul is now set to release his new album this autumn with Starbucks. He will be the first artist to sign with US-based coffee chain's new Hear Music record label. A source claimed record executives at Capitol were devastated by the news.

"They knew it was coming," the source said. "They did nothing for the Chaos album, and they were reminded that McCartney's entire contract was ending."

Sir Paul's departure is especially fascinating because ever since the Beatles joined Capitol, all their albums and all their solo albums have come from the label. Capitol's association with the group since they broke up in 1970 has always been key to the organisation. Sir Paul's Wings albums were with the label, as was John Lennon's Imagine, George Harrison's All Things Must Pass and Ringo Starr's Ringo! Even Sean Lennon has released a Capitol album. But all that may change now that McCartney has flown the coop, according to record industry experts.

"Starbucks has proven to be a much more effective seller of CDs and DVDs than record stores, thanks to their amazing retailing and branding," an industry source said. "Starbucks customers have come to regard non-coffee product merchandise as hip and attractive, while record companies have been unable to reach customers at all in recent years."

Amid British tabloid reports of a $56 million divorce settlement with her husband, rock royalty Paul McCartney, former model Heather Mills is instead focusing on her stint as the first person with one leg to compete on "Dancing With the Stars."

During an exclusive morning show interview, Mills wouldn't talk about McCartney or the ongoing legal proceedings. Instead, she wanted to talk about her precedent-setting debut next week on "Dancing With the Stars."

"You know what's really funny. It's kind of balanced up. Because I do a lot of sport, because I'm kind of quite flexible, the things that are normally hard for people to do, I find easy," Mills said. "But the things that are really simple for people, like just walking in a straight line, I find very, very difficult."

Mills was a 25-year-old model when she lost her leg in a motorcycle accident.

"Police motorcycle chops my leg off, crushes my pelvis, punctures my lung," Mills said.

Now, she's training for the competition in England with her partner on the show, Jonathan Roberts.

"I was like, in a bit of shock. Like, my goodness, what is she thinking," Roberts said about his partner's decision to dance despite her missing leg. "That's actually what went through my mind." "There's the chance after lots of dancing that it could just come off," she said. "For me this has been quite a holiday because my life's so megastressful and so busy."

Because of the divorce, Mills has been under intense media scrutiny recently. "Most of the time, I'm pretty good," she said. "When it's concerning my daughter or anything or very personal to my charity, and it's harming my charity, then I [get] kind of stressed."

Since Mills and McCartney announced their separation last summer, the British tabloids have gone after Mills, printing a string of lurid allegations.

"I don't think the public in general, whatever country it is, are that stupid to believe all the incontinent rubbish that comes out of tabloids' mouths," she said. "It's just so ridiculous that you've just got to laugh at it."

Win or lose, Mills says she's competing in "Dancing with the Stars" to prove a point to people with disabilities. "What I want to do is show that you can get out there and do anything with an artificial leg. I mean, we've got people with two legs missing running the 100 meters in 11.3 seconds," she said. "I bet you can't run the 100 meters in 11.3 seconds."

As for what Americans think of her, Mills said when it came to the show, it was all about technique. "Well, it doesn't really matter who I am as a person," she said. "What matters is what they think of the dance." She's also not nervous.

"I don't really get nervous unless I'm going to meet potential mother-in-laws, so that's not going to be happening," she said. Mills said her appearance fees from the show would go to an animal rights charity.

Has the long and winding divorce road led to a mega-million dollar payout for Heather Mills?

All new reports Monday are oozing with insider details and claim that Mills has accepted a new deal from Sir Paul McCartney. The report also says that she'll drop her demand for sole custody of their daughter Beatrice in exchange for a staggering $56 million payout, which included McCartney's mansion in London.

However, on Monday, Heather's camp exclusively told "Extra" the story is not true.

What the Mirror did not say was the picture was taken in 1989. The coat belonged to my mother, who had sadly died just a few days earlier and I wore it because it made me feel close to her.

I am not ashamed I wore it. At the time I was not a vegetarian and was not an anti fur campaigner. I was extremely young and was not aware of the issues surrounding the fur trade.

I gave up eating meat for health reasons when I lost my leg. I became an anti fur trade campaigner when I met Paul because he was passionate about it and when he explained the issues of cruelty and endangered species, and I looked into it myself, I felt he was right.

My campaigning is therefore an informed choice.

The Mirror tried to suggest I was in the wrong to criticise Naomi Campbell who took part in the campaign I would rather go naked than wear fur and yet she has still continued to model fur. I believe that is a different issue. Naomi is aware of the issues. She could make a choice that would have a profound impact on this barbaric trade.

Two weeks ago a person, who I shall not name, called me and asked for £20,000 ($38,790) not to sell that picture of me to the papers. I declined to give in to the demands.

It has led to me being vilified in the Mirror this morning. My friends, family and fellow campaigners know the truth. But I write this in the hope that other members of the media will at least understand the full circumstances and they can make an informed choice about repeating the story.

Thank you for reading this.

Heather

A balmy September afternoon, and a young woman called Heather Mills, draped head to toe in a mink coat, strolls arm-in-arm with a dark-haired man.

Surely this cannot be the same Heather Mills who is a vehement antifur campaigner? The same Heather Mills who rages about an industry that "murders animal"?

That was the conclusion when a video of her apparently wearing a mink coat emerged this week.

Some say she has a somewhat "elastic" relationship with the truth, while others say that Heather, locked in a divorce battle with Sir Paul McCartney for a share of his £825 million fortune, lives in a Walter Mitty world of half-truths and "porky pies".

"Heather is a fantasist. I wouldn't believe her if she told me the sun set in the West," said one associate.

Here, Natalie Clarke puts her claims to the test with our own Heather Mills Porky Detector.

I DETEST ANYONE WHO WEARS FUR PORKY

Heather claims

As a vociferous and active member of PETA, Heather has stood on the streets of New York berating celebrities for wearing fur, and even threatened to stalk the fur- clad Jennifer Lopez.

Recently, she called Naomi Campbell "shallow and hypocritical" for wearing clothes adorned with fur.

The truth

This week a tabloid newspaper printed stills from a video from 1989 which apparently shows Heather wearing a mink coat.

She is on the arm of her former husband, Alfie Karmal, on her way to a friend's wedding in North London.

Old friends of 39-year-old Heather, the estranged wife of Sir Paul McCartney, say she adored the coat, which used to belong to her mother.

Her former sister-in-law, Dianna Karmal, says: "She really loved that coat. When I see her anti-fur campaigns now, I always chuckle."

She continues: "It's laughable that she's called so many celebrities hypocrites. She's styled herself as an anti-fur campaigner, but was proud to be in her mum's mink."

Heather says on her website: "I am not ashamed I wore the coat. The coat belonged to my mother who sadly died a few days earlier and I wore it because it made me feel close to her."

MY MOTHER LOST HER LEG IN A CRASH LIKE ME PORKY

Heather claims

In one of life's more bizarre coincidences, Heather, who lost her leg in a road accident in 1993, claims her mother Beatrice also lost a leg in a car crash.

In an inspiring, never-to-be-repeated modern medical miracle, however, the "almost severed" leg was reattached to her body.

"When she reached the hospital it (the leg) was only hanging on by a tiny flap of skin and flesh," Heather recalls in her autobiography, A Single Step. "Miraculously the surgeons managed to insert a metal plate and reattach it."

The truth

The severed leg story is "ludicrous", according to Heather's stepfather Charles Stapley.

"I was astounded when I read that," the 81-year-old former Crossroads actor told the Mail. "My wife did have her leg badly crushed in a car accident but surgeons saved it and she continued to lead an active life. She was even a keen tennis player."

I WAS NEVER A HOOKER PORKY

Heather claims

Six years ago, not long after she began dating Sir Paul, Heather spoke movingly of how she was being subjected to a "vile" smear campaign branding her a hooker. "Paul never doubted me for a moment."

Naive Heather told of her horror when, at a lavish birthday at the luxurious Marbella villa of multimillionaire Adnan Khashoggi, it dawned on her why she and a group of other models had been invited.

A woman who had organised the party shouted at Heather for slapping the actor George Hamilton, who had, she said, made a pass at her. "This woman was shouting: 'Who do you think you are, upsetting Adnan's friends? What do you think you're here for?'

"She was some sort of madam who found these girls and provided them to him. I met Adnan Khashoggi and he is a lovely, polite man. But I haven't had sex with him. I have never sold sex, and I am not an escort girl."

The truth

A number of people came forward last summer to tell a Sunday tabloid how, in her 20s, Heather was a high-class hooker who had sex with rich Arabs and businessmen at lavish parties.

Among them was Abdul Khoury, Adnan Khashoggi's private secretary from 1977 until last year.

He has a different recollection of the Marbella party. "One of my duties was to look after Mr Khashoggi's guests, which included vice girls. One was Heather Mills, who I know had sex with him for money.

"The day after the party, I took Heather and a lady named Joanna to see Mr Khashoggi. He asked me to count out two amounts of £2,000, to put the money into envelopes and to give them to each of the girls."

I AM A VEGETARIAN PORKY

Heather claims

Heather is a strict vegetarian. She was set to front a campaign against milk by the Vegetarian And Vegan Foundation last year, but pulled out in the wake of her marriage break-ups saying that she was "worn down".

The truth

Chris Terrill, the ex she ditched for McCartney, fondly remembers her cooking him her speciality dish...Lancashire hotpot.

Surely a strict vegetarian would never be prepared to cook meat, even for others. Her former sister-in-law Dianna Karmal, however, says Heather has been a vegetarian only since meeting Paul.

I LIVED ROUGH PORKY

Heather claims

Heather recounts running away from home shortly before her 14th birthday, spending months sleeping in a cardboard box under railway arches near Waterloo Bridge, surrounded by drug addicts and prostitutes.

"As lodgings, the arches weren't exactly inviting," she writes in her autobiography. "They were dark and damp and the ground was littered with broken glass. My neighbours came from all sorts of backgrounds. Some had had nervous breakdowns," she writes.

The truth

Charles Stapley, Heather's step-father, is bemused by this. Heather and her sister, Fiona, moved to Clapham, South London, to live with him and their mother in 1983, when Heather was 15.

"She always had a room at my house with her sister," says Mr Stapley, "and I don't ever recall hearing that she'd slept rough at Waterloo Station. Heather is somewhat confused about a number of things from her youth." Records reportedly show she was enrolled at school at the time.

I RAN AWAY TO JOIN A FAIR PORKY

Heather claims

Heather says she also ran away to join a fair during her teenage years. "My new home was a tiny caravan at Freddie Gray's fair on Clapham Common.

"I managed to talk Dorothy, the lady who ran the candy-floss stall, into finding me a job making tea and cleaning the carousel horses and spinning the waltzers."

The truth

According to her stepfather, Heather would disappear at weekends in the back of a lorry with a youth who worked for a travelling funfair in London.

MY EX WAS A GAY MI6 AGENT PORKY

Heather claims

When she met Macca, Heather's then fiance was a freelance filmmaker called Chris Terrill.

After she dumped him, six days before their wedding - the marquee in place, wedding presents from John Lewis were piling up - she told friends she had discovered Mr Terrill was a gay MI6 agent intent on wrecking her campaign against landmines.

The truth

"Once, I had confided to her that, in a previous incarnation, I had a brief brush with the intelligence services when I was contemplating a career with the Foreign Office," Mr Terrill said.

"What a mistake that was. I heard she had inflated this into the idea that I was an MI6 agent, whose mission was to infiltrate her world and sabotage her anti-landmine work in order to protect the British arms industry.

"So, she had me down as James Bond. In fact, a gay James Bond."

While Mr Terrill fell under her spell, he was also aware of her tendency towards exaggeration. "I soon realised that Heather had a somewhat elastic relationship with the truth, which she was able to stretch impressively sometimes."

I WAS AN INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST PORKY

Heather claims

As well as all her modelling and charity campaigning, she has also found time to be an investigative journalist.

The truth

Heather stole the identity of another Heather Mills, who really is an investigative journalist, for more than a year, claiming that a series of newspaper articles by the writer were her own.

She told "fellow" writers she contributed regularly to The Observer on subjects ranging from poverty to prisons and health.

When a suspicious journalist asked Heather how she had managed to write a piece about prison reform while she was abroad on holiday, she had an immediate answer: she'd taken her laptop with her.

She was finally rumbled when another doubting journalist called The Observer and asked how many legs the writer Heather Mills had.

"She posed as me, not only to her friends, but in a series of meetings with TV executives," said the real journalist Ms Mills.

"She even showed people cuttings of stories I had written."

Paul McCartney is splitting with the record company he's called home for most of the last 43 years.

Except for a brief break in the early 1980s when he skipped to Columbia Records and then back, McCartney has been with Capitol since the Beatles' first album in 1964.

But he's leaving, effective immediately, and taking his entire back catalog of solo albums with him. That's everything including bestsellers like "Band on the Run," "McCartney," "Ram," "Flowers in the Dirt," "Tug of War" and his critically acclaimed most recent album, "Chaos and Creation in the Backyard," nominated for four Grammys, including Album of the Year, in 2006.

That much is news. This much has also been reported: McCartney will be the first artist signed with Starbucks' new record label. News of the label and McCartney's potential involvement were first suggested in Sunday's New York Post.

But I can tell you exclusively: It's a done deal. It will be announced this week. McCartney will first offer just his new album to Starbucks for a fall release. The rest of the catalog he will sit on for the moment.

Capitol, I can also tell you, is not happy. They are part of the ailing EMI Records empire. EMI, like Warner Music, is suffering and could collapse at any time. This news is a terrible blow to them.

"They knew it was coming," a source says. "They did nothing for the 'Chaos' album, and they were reminded that McCartney's entire contract was ending. Look, they did nothing for the Beatles' 'Love' album this winter. It just sold on its own. Everything they do is outdated."

McCartney's exit from Capitol is interesting in many ways. Every since the Beatles joined Capitol, all their albums and all their solo albums have come from the label.

Capitol's association with the group since they broke up in 1970 has always been key. McCartney's Wings albums were with the label, as was John Lennon's "Imagine," George Harrison's "All Things Must Pass" and Ringo Starr's "Ringo!" Even Sean Lennon has released a Capitol album.

But all that may change now that McCartney has flown the coop. Starbucks has proven to be a much more effective seller of CDs and DVDs than record stores, thanks to their amazing retailing and branding.

Starbucks customers have come to regard non-coffee product merchandise as hip and attractive, while record companies have been unable to reach customers at all in recent years.

A word of warning to Lady Heather Mills McCartney - it's very dangerous to go on a reality TV show if you've got something false about you.

And no, I am not being crass. I leave that to the Greek website which describes her as 'the one-legged Beatle's wife'. Ouch.

As Heather signs up for the US version of Strictly Come Dancing, it's not her false limb that'll make the difference, it's her false modesty. Look at Kay Burley and Ulrika Jonsson on ITV's Dancing On Ice. No amount of 'I'm doing it for charidee' and 'So long as my children are happy' could disguise their determination to freeze their fellow competitors out and, as a result, they both hit the rocks.

Despite all her protestations to the contrary, Heather is cut from the same cloth and is likely to suffer the same fate.

I do take my hat off to her for dropping the title though.

At least she's got the good grace to admit she ain't no lady.

A settlement may be near in the high-profile divorce playing out across the pond between Paul McCartney and Heather Mills.

According to recent reports, Mills has agreed to a settlement that would give her $56 million in cash and property and joint custody of their daughter, Beatrice.

That doesn't mean the arguing between the former model and the rock star has died down, especially in light of Mills' debut on "Dancing With the Stars."

After less than four years, McCartney and Mills' marriage ended with reports that Mills was accusing McCartney of stabbing her with a wine glass and pushing her into a bath. He denies the accusations.

When they split last summer, there was talk that Mills might land a quarter of the 64-year-old former Beatle's estimated $1.6 billion fortune.

The divorce had promised courtroom carnage, but people might still see a lot of dirty laundry aired in public. It appears that a gag order is not part of the settlement deal, and if last week's preliminary hearings are any indication, each side will throw its fair share of jabs.

"What was achieved last week was that both of them got bloody noses in different directions," said divorce lawyer Vanessa Lloyd-Platt.

Success in Court Doesn't Mean Victory in Life

Mills may succeed in court if the $56 million settlement comes through. But in the court of public opinion, she isn't faring well, observers say. One newspaper recently said that she once worked as a porn model and a call girl. Mills plans to sue.

"Her PR machinery has not worked well, and she knows it," Lloyd-Platt said.

Lawyers said that under normal circumstances, they would expect McCartney to pay a premium for a gag order to protect his reputation. By not doing so, he may be trying to show the world that he has nothing to hide.

"It might be that's the gamble he is taking. It might be that he will think, 'I'm a national icon in Britain, and in fact all over the world, and I will prove I'm the better person and I will go out there and do it in the press,'" Lloyd-Platt said.

The next step for Mills, who lost part of a leg in an accident in 1993, will be a dance step, as a contestant on ABC's "Dancing with the Stars."

As for Mills' next step in court, her lawyers declined to comment to ABC News.

A betting shop has caused outrage because it will be running bets on whether Heather Mills's prosthetic leg will fall off on TV.

Sir Paul McCartney's estranged wife Heather Mills is set to star on US TV show Dancing With The Stars.

The 39-year-old, who lost her left leg in an accident 14 years ago, will compete on the American version of Strictly Come Dancing from next month.

Disability rights groups are angry with the online gambling company that will be running wagers on whether Heather's prosthetic leg will fall off during the filming of the show.

Site Bodog.com says it will pay out nearly £200 ($386) to anyone who correctly stakes £50 ($96) that her leg will fly off during the show.

The site even goes as far as to state: "Heather Mills's leg must fall off, not be purposely taken off, during a dance routine for all 'Yes' wagers to be graded a Win."

The former model will be the first contestant on the hit ABC television show to compete with an artificial limb.

A spokesman for Radar, the disability network said taking bets on Heather is totally inappropriate and offensive.

Heather herself told US show Extra last week that it was very very unlikely it would fall off but said "It would be quite funny to knock one of the judges out".

She said she's doing the programme to "show people that even with a prosthetic leg you can dance" but reports in the US say that rehearsals for the show have left her in a lot of pain.

Heather dines out on woes

Moaning Heather McCartney whinged about her life yesterday - despite already getting £2 million ($3.7 million) from estranged hubby Sir Paul.

Mucca, 39, told three pals at a restaurant: "You don't know what I've been through. I have had a terrible time."

One customer at Woodies Diner in Hove, East Sussex, said: "She was complaining about her lot. It was quite astonishing."

Last week The Sun told how Heather is demanding £10,000 ($19, 340)a DAY from Sir Paul in their divorce battle.

Photographs of Sir Paul McCartney's estranged wife Heather Mills wearing a mink coat have been published by a British newspaper.
Mills, an enthusiastic anti-fur campaigner, is a vocal supporter of animal rights group People for The Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) but was reportedly dropped by the organisation last month. Stills from the video footage - filmed in 1989 at a friend's wedding - printed in the Daily Mirror show Mills sporting a mink coat made from up to 40 of the animals, according to a British Fur Trade expert.

Last year, Mills branded British supermodel and former PETA supporter Naomi Campbell "shallow and hypocritical" for wearing fur.

Mills' ex-sister-in-law Diana Krall says, "She really loved that coat. When I see her anti-fur campaigns now, I always chuckle.

"It's laughable that she's called so many celebrities hypocrites. She's styled herself an anti-fur campaigner but was proud to be in her mum's mink.

"The pictures are from long ago but no-one's aware of her previous love of fur. The charities she campaigns for will feel let down."

The formation of Starbucks Records, as the unit is expected to be called, could be announced as soon as this week, according to these sources.

Launching a record label is something "that has been bandied about for quite a while," said one source. "They think they are empowered enough to do that."

Said another: "They have a very targeted, efficient distribution channel that allows them to be profitable in a limited way with music."

Starbusks could also take on a partner in the venture.

Unlike its Hear Music operation, which releases the Artists Choice compilation series that features musicians such as Sheryl Crow or The Rolling Stones selecting songs that influenced them, Starbucks Records is expected sign, record and produce its own artists rather than licensing songs from other labels.

That's where Sir Paul comes in. The wrinkly rocker not only fits with the Starbucks demographic, but also is a free agent not signed to any label, sources said.

A spokesman for McCartney could not be reached.

Up until now, Starbucks has only distributed music though its retail coffee shops. But it is believed that Starbucks Records will seek to secure distribution for its releases in other retail outlets.

Starbucks Hear Music had its greatest success with the release of Ray Charles' "Genius Loves Company," a co-production with Concord Records that went on to win eight Grammy awards including Album of the Year.

The caffeine pusher has enough licensing deals in place with major and independent record labels to build its own digital-music store a la Apple's iTunes, or it could bring in a partner to help build the digital infrastructure.

There have been talks about putting kiosks in its shops so that customers can shop for music and create their own compilations while waiting for their $5 cup of joe.

"We are constantly in discussions with potential partners to create innovative ways to help our customers discover quality entertainment offerings," Starbucks said in a statement issued to The Post. "We have no announcement regarding any new partnership at this time."

Paul McCartney is planning to release an album as soon as his bitter divorce from Heather Mills is over.

Friends say the former Beatle is desperate to be known for his music again, not his stormy private life, and has been writing songs since the couple's acrimonious split

"The album is scheduled for seven or eight weeks' time, it's imminent," said a source close to McCartney's company MPL.

"It's a rock album. But he knows that just because he might win a court case, it doesn't necessarily mean fans will buy his album.

"It's almost like starting out again for him. He lost touch with his core fans when he married Heather and he wants to reconnect."

Another McCartney aide said: "We've been told to stand by for an album. He has been working on it for some time and it will be the first of two projects, the second being a guitar concerto."

McCartney appears to be winning the High Court battle raging in London.

Lawyers have been challenging Mills, 39, over a catalogue of claims they say are fraudulent as McCartney fights to keep his reported £835 million fortune.

But he is just as concerned at the damage the marriage has done to his reputation as Britain's biggest rock star.

"Before he met her, he was the chairman of the board of rock'n'roll," said the source.

"Now he's more like the chairman of Grace Brothers. He's old Mr Grace. People love Paul because he's a national icon but the national icon has been made to look a fool.

"While married to Heather, Paul became stand-offish with the public and the media. He was phoning to harangue journalists about their treatment of his wife. He would never do that before."

McCartney, 64, is said to be particularly riled by his tabloid image. He feels that having always been a rock star, recent events have relegated him to being a celebrity.

"Prior to this, he was always 'Paul McCartney, the former Beatle'," says one friend. "Now it's 'Paul McCartney, the husband of Heather Mills'.

"This marriage has made him a celebrity and he was never a celebrity, he was a star, a rock star at that. He absolutely hates being a celebrity, he used to use the term as a swear word.

"The fact he and Heather have superseded the Beckhams is probably the worst thing that's ever happened to him with fame."

Colleagues are talking about a series of intimate gigs to relaunch McCartney, or even an impromptu tour in the style of his 1970s band, Wings, who turned up unannounced at universities, asking to play.

Sir Paul has always been keen on intimate gigs as a way of directly reaching fans.

After The Beatles gave up live performances in 1966, he suggested they turn up at pubs to play and has repeatedly planned smaller shows over the years. His daughter, fashion designer Stella, 35, has been helping him plan his post-divorce future and has taken an active role in his business affairs over the past few months.

"It's true, Stella has been running the show," said the source. "She's making decisions, backing Paul up on a lot.

"She's his main ally and of all his children, the one most like him. She took the marriage personally, she hated it from day one, everyone who was at the wedding will tell you that, she wasn't smiling. Stella's a good girl, she has the same honesty and work ethics as her father. She understands the responsibility of being a McCartney."

Ms Mills is expected to walk away with around £30 million ($58 million). The judge will "ring fence" Sir Paul's fortune gained prior to their 2000 marriage but his earnings during their four years together included significant income from three tours. His 2002-3 tour reportedly grossed £63million ($121 million).

Heather Mills reckons she needs 10 grand a day to get by. Oh really? This from the girl who's forever bragging about her working-class roots, and about how no one ever gave her anything - a girl who never tires of telling us all how independent and resourceful she is, and about how hard she works.

If Paul McCartney ever doubted Mills married him for his money (he was convinced she didn't) he must realise now what a 24-carat mug he's been. Because there's only one thing Heather Mills needs from a man - and that's his cash.

And as McCartney has proved, as long as the world is peopled by rich, vain, old men too stupid to realise young girls don't fawn over them because they're fascinating but because they're a cheque book on legs, then the Heathers of this world will continue to prosper.

And one hopes that as Ms Mills was photographed last week driving a car with one hand on the wheel while the other operated a camcorder (not to mention jumping a red light) she will be prosecuted.

Or does the law just apply to us "oiks" and not the recipients of multi-million-pound divorce settlements?

Sources close to Macca's camp told the News of the World: "It's amazing how quickly things have turned around. Heather has caved in on lots of things - including the money demands and sole custody of daughter Beatrice - and we now expect her to settle."

News of the planned settlement - which works out at £696 ($1,344) an hour for their 1,735 days of marriage so far - comes after a fortnight of blazing rows between the couple.

They have silently faced each other at the High Court three times for opening hearings over the divorce. But in private they have been letting fly.

After one session furious Macca ranted at Heather down the phone:

"I just can't wait until I never have to see your face again!"

But she blasted back: "You'll never get rid of me!"

And in another vicious screaming match about one-legged Heather appearing in US prime time show Dancing With The Stars, Sir Paul labelled the move "tacky".

He rubbished the idea and predicted she will become a "reality TV freak like Anna Nicole Smith".

Gagging

A close friend of Heather insisted that a settlement deal wouldn't buy her silence about claims Paul had been violent towards her.

Heather - dubbed Mucca because of her porn and vice past - has repeatedly told her pal: "I will NOT sign a gagging clause because I want people to know the truth."

But an end to the bitter court battle is in sight after the warring couple - who wed in June 2002 - finally came close to agreement over the key issue of joint child custody.

The Beatles legend had been desperate to secure his share of control over three-year-old Beatrice.

And we can reveal Heather, 39, is expected to drop her outrageous demand for £3.4 million ($6.7 million) a year (£10,000 a day) just "to get by". Instead it is believed she will accept the scaled-down pay-off.

Included in the deal is one of Macca's homes - likely to be his £4 million ($7.3) luxury Georgian house in St John's Wood, London.

A source close to Sir Paul said: "Heather's completely changed her stance. Only recently Paul's team were worried she might have upped the stakes by threatening to leave England, taking Beatrice with her.

"It didn't happen but it would have driven Paul to the brink. He doesn't care where Heather ends up but he is devoted to caring for Beatrice and couldn't bear the thought of not being able to see her.

"Being realistic it could still take weeks to finally thrash out a deal but they're on the right path and now they're talking the same language. And if negotiations keep going this well it could be even sooner."

The new deal saves 64-year-old Macca a fortune on the £32 million ($61.8 million) settlement first offered in January and exclusively revealed by the News of the World. Under that proposal Heather would have walked away with TWO houses.

Last week Paul gave a V for victory sign as he left the court.

Now the settlement will be thrashed out by lawyers Anthony Julius and Fiona Shackleton, who arranged the deal between Prince Charles and Princess Diana.

Our source said: "It seems Heather has been stung by the outrage over her cash demands. She thought she was entitled to that much but realises the longer this battle goes on the worse she'll come out of it.

"She's ready now to make a compromise. There's been a great deal of horse-trading between the lawyers.

"Sir Paul will be delighted. All he ever wanted was for this to be settled so he can get on with his life."

But Heather's camp insisted there were other motives behind the new moves - and they centre on the leaked divorce papers that reveal she had accused Macca of humiliating and physically abusing her.

The claims included allegations that Paul poured wine over her, stabbed her arm with a broken glass, shoved her violently into a bath when she was pregnant and pushed her over a coffee table.

A friend said: "He won't let it go to court, that's for sure. Heather has independent witnesses to support her claims, medical evidence and tapes in which he states his intentions very clearly. Why would Paul want that discussed in court and have to live with that stigma for the rest of his life?

"Maybe it's getting closer to a settlement but what's clear is there's a very nasty and evil campaign going on here.

Disgusting

"What McCartney has done is categorically deny the wife-beating, saying it's disgraceful and disgusting, then settle so she won't have a chance to show the evidence to back up what she said.

"I know that Paul's worn her down and she got completely fed up with the whole thing. But he'll never keep her quiet."

On Friday Heather was spotted enjoying drinks at a Brighton pub then dinner at a restaurant with her American make-up artist friend Mark Payne, also pictured with her at court on Tuesday.

Now it's clear that she had plenty to celebrate.

On top of the £29 million deal, legal sources said Paul had failed in an attempt to have Heather's divorce petition citing those accusations of physical abuse thrown out of court.

And she won a larger-than-expected interim annual maintenance payment.

Plus Macca has agreed to pay a lump sum - thought to be as much as £2 million ($3.86 million) - for her security needs during the divorce procedings. Heather also clinched her right to take Beatrice to Los Angeles to be with her next week as she competes in the dance show.

Her friend stressed: "Heather has NO plans to move to America because she, her friends and family are in England. And there'll be NO custody battle as she and Paul both want Bea to be happy. Heather wants to do this show because it will take her mind off the divorce battle.

"And she wants to take Bea along not as a publicity stunt, as critics claim, but simply because she's a caring mum.

"The deal is she will take Bea out for a couple of weeks during her Easter holiday and then Paul will look after her.

"In the past Heather's been distraught about the backlash she's received over the divorce case. She's been phoning me in tears.

"But she has really enjoyed doing the show and now sounds very upbeat."

Sir Paul McCartney has suffered a string of defeats in his divorce battle with Heather Mills, say legal sources.

The former Beatle gave a show of confidence, making a V-for-victory sign after leaving the High Court recently. But the sources say Miss Mills is in the driving seat following victories in areas of interim maintenance and interim custody of their three-year-old daughter Beatrice.

Sir Paul has also failed in his attempt to have Miss Mills's divorce petition - citing accusations of physical abuse - thrown out of court. He has also agreed to pay a lump sum --understood to be as much as £2 million ($3.8 million) - for Miss Mills's security needs during the divorce proceedings which could drag on for as long as another year. The couple are battling it out over Sir Paul's £825 million fortune after splitting in May last year.

Sources indicate that Miss Mills has been able to vary the period of time she has Beatrice from three-and-a-half days to two weeks so she can take her to the U.S., where she will be appearing in Dancing With The Stars, a version of the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing.

She has also managed to secure an interim annual maintenance payment 'larger than the one she asked for'. Reports have suggested she was angling for some £10,000 ($19,340) a day. This follows Sir Paul's decision not to offer security protection for Miss Mills - and Beatrice when she is with her - and his decision to change the locks at the marital home after the break-up.

A source close to the couple said: 'Heather has won on a number of issues already.

'The court did not throw her divorce petition out. Every time Paul's lawyer jumped up to say something, the judge dismissed it. 'The judge awarded Heather more interim money for the year than she even asked for. She has a massive overdraft and he has not given her a penny for the best part of a year. She has to look after Beatrice and she has no visible means of income.'

But most importantly, Heather has won her right to take Beatrice to Los Angeles to be with her as she competes in Dancing With The Stars.' Most of the trip to America falls within Beatrice's Easter holidays so Heather will have her the first two weeks and Paul after that. She had to go to court to change the custody situation in the runup to going to America.' The source added that the judge thought Sir Paul's behaviour after the break-up was very significant.

Regarding the value of the McCartney property empire, the source said that the judge had reacted 'in an interesting way, saying the worth of the houses down to the smallest detail was irrelevant. He said a man of such wealth should not be worried about how much the houses cost and that he should be more than able to compensate her.'

March 9, 2007 -- The Sun

Mucca rakes in £2m Macca gift

Greedy Heather Mills was quids in last night after her estranged husband Sir Paul McCartney gave her more than £2 million ($3.87 million).

The ex-Beatle handed her the dosh as a "down-payment" on her eventual divorce settlement.

Sources said it was passed over as a "goodwill gesture without prejudice".

Lady Mucca, 39, is holding out for a £40 million ($77 million) settlement which would provide a Premiership football star's wage of £10,000 ($19,340) a day.

But Macca, 64, says that is too high and that he is not really worth his estimated £825million fortune.

A pal said: "The £2 million is all down to the fact Paul is a superbly warm and generous human being.

"He recognises that there were good times. But the cash he agreed to hand over doesn't prejudice what the eventual settlement will be. It's to tide her over."

The couple's lawyers are now locked in negotiations to try to assess their exact wealth.

One legal observer said: "It all depends on exactly how much Sir Paul is worth and what contribution she can argue she brought to the marriage."

Mucca's £2 million payout came as road safety groups slated her after she was spotted driving while filming on a camcorder.

She was snapped using it while pulling out of Brighton station, East Sussex. She then ran a red light in her 4x4 Mercedes ML.

RAC road safety chief Robin Cummins branded her actions "extremely dangerous".

It's quite a feat, driving a powerful 4x4 and filming with a camcorder at the same time. But Heather Mills appeared to manage it as she left Brighton railway station.

The estranged wife of Sir Paul McCartney then added insult to injury by jumping a red light about a quarter of a mile from the station. Her accomplishment was enough to attract heavy criticism from road safety experts last night.

Miss Mills, 39, who is involved in a bitter divorce battle with Sir Paul, was at the station in Mercedes ML to pick up former bodyguard Mark Payne before she returned to a flat in neighbouring Hove.

An onlooker said: "She pulled out of the station holding the camera and looking out of the window. Then she sped off and ran a red light a bit further down the road. There was no way she was paying full attention to the road. It's lucky she didn't have an accident."

Andrew Howard, the AA's head of road safety, said anyone driving while holding a video camera could be charged with careless driving and not being in control of their vehicle.

Rule 127 of the Highway Code states: "You must exercise proper control of your vehicle at all times." Mr Howard said: "The 'must' in this rule is a legal requirement, so anyone being distracted while driving can be prosecuted. "This is how people were prosecuted for using mobile phones while driving before the new laws were brought in." Robin Cummins, RAC's road safety consultant, said: "Driving while distracted, be it due to a use of a mobile phone, eating, smoking or using any other audio or visual equipment is extremely dangerous.

"I'm just the dad," Sir Paul McCartney joked at his daughter's after party Thursday night (March 1). He certainly didn't let the media circus around his divorce from Heather Mills prevent him coming to sing, along with Pretenders front woman Chrissie Hynde and Marie-France Garcia.

"I was in court today," related McCartney, who had been photographed afterward smiling and doing the peace sign. "I always do that. I think they can't use it because I do that all the time. But that's what it's all about, peace on earth for everybody."

But did he mean V for "victory"?

"I'm hoping it'll soon be over," he demurred. Which would fit in with his plans for Stella.

"I want to take you away from here, from all these people," he said. "You work too hard. You're my baby, you've got babies!"

"It was so cute," the designer said tearfully afterward.

A close pal of her estranged hubby Sir Paul McCartney said last night: "It's amazing.

"When you consider her humble beginnings, £10,000 a day is a phenomenal sum to cover her needs. It's as much as some Premiership footballers earn. Many people have to work a year for what she wants to bank in just one day."

Heather Mills, 39 has drawn up her annual cash commitments and has worked out that she needs the money - more than £3.5 million ($6.7 million )a year - just to "get by".

Pals of ex-Beatle Sir Paul, 64, revealed that she is willing to consider agreeing a "high-speed" divorce settlement for a minimum total cash pay-off of £40million ($77 million). Distraught Sir Paul is refusing to cough up and argues that he is worth "considerably less" than the £825 million ($1.6 billion) fortune he has been alleged to have.

Heather and Macca are locked in a protracted and increasingly acrimonious divorce battle.

They have filed claim and counter-claim and have appeared in person three times at the High Court in London in the past week.

It had been hoped they could split amicably under a "quickie" divorce, which would involve neither of them appearing in court.

But now the negotiations are expected to drag on for months and possibly into next year. A pal of Sir Paul said: "Heather is making extremely large demands considering the brevity of the marriage.

"Paul wants to be as generous as possible but the trouble is his fortune has been grossly exaggerated.

"He is certainly worth considerably less than the £825million figure in The Sunday Times Rich List.

"The real figure is probably £500 million ($964 million) or less."

Sir Paul met Heather at a charity do in October 1999, when he donated £150,000 ($289,244) to her landmine charity. They announced their engagement in July, 2001 and married in a £2 million ($3.7 million) ceremony in Ireland in June 2002.

Their baby daughter Beatrice was born in October 2003.

Cracks in the marriage emerged in early 2006. The couple confirmed they were separating that May.

The divorce became more bitter as Heather's porn modelling past came to light.

Leaked divorce papers showed her astonishing claims that Paul: POURED wine over her, STABBED her arm with a broken wine glass, SHOVED her violently into a bath when she was pregnant and PUSHED her over a coffee table.

Macca has hit back by CHANGING the locks at their North London home, SEIZING paintings worth £10million ($19 million) from her country retreat and REFUSING to pay for her minders.

Pals of Sir Paul insisted Heather's claims of violence were nonsense.

Telly legend Cilla Black said: "Paul would never do that to a woman. It's not the Pauly I know."

Heather's first husband Alfie Karmal and her father Charles have branded her a lying fantasist.

She and Sir Paul now hate each other so much they refuse to meet even to hand over daughter Beatrice.

She is known as a passionate champion of animal rights and welfare but should Heather Mills be putting her own house in order first?

Heather, 39, who is in the middle of a bitter divorce battle with her ex-husband Sir Paul was, we learn, challenged by another dog lover after leaving her pet shaggy beige terrier's mess unattended while walking the pooch the other day in Regent's Park in London.

Our man with the designer dog lead reports: "Heather was striding away after her dog had done its business but a fellow dog walker called after her and asked her politely to pick up its mess." Heather protested that she did not have a bag to dispose of the waste matter and made to walk away again but the dog-walker wasn't going to let her get away with that.

"He gave her a handful of his own disposal bags and watched as he made sure she personally picked up the mess, " we're told.

"Heather was actually very polite and apologetic and agreed it was the right thing to do to dispose of the waste." The former glamour model turned charity worker ­ who has lent her name to campaigns by animal rights groups such as Peta and Viva ­ can be forgiven for being a tad distracted at the moment.

As well as attending court proceedings in London over her divorce she is, despite her prosthetic leg, about to appear in Dancing With The Stars, the US version of Strictly Come Dancing.

No doubt Heather's eventual multi-million payout from Sir Macca will keep her in enough poop-scoop bags to prevent any future doggie disposal embarrassments...

Date set for Heather assault case

A photographer charged with assaulting Sir Paul McCartney's estranged wife Heather is to stand trial on 21 June.

Jay Kaycappa, 31, is alleged to have attacked Lady McCartney in a subway on Brighton seafront on 5 July last year by grabbing her right shoulder.

Kaycappa, of The Hurdles, Fareham, Hampshire, is also accused of assaulting her companion, Mark Payne, in Brighton the following day.

Brighton magistrates set the date for the trial in his absence on Wednesday.

Kaycappa's unconditional bail was extended.

The estranged wife of Sir Paul McCartney wears a prosthetic limb after losing her left leg below the knee following a road accident in 1993, but she refuses to shy away from the show's gruelling training regime.

A source told Closer: "Heather has been through hell recently and it's great for her to focus on something other than her daughter and the divorce. But the show's rehearsals have left her in a lot of pain.

"The sores are especially bad where her leg joins her prosthetic limb, but she's determined not to give up."

Sir Paul McCartney has dismissed claims he is winning his divorce battle with estranged wife Heather Mills, insisting a 'V' symbol he made outside court meant "peace" not "victory".

The warring couple faced each other in London's High Court last week and the former Beatle was photographed holding two of his fingers aloft in a 'V' shape, prompting speculation he was triumphing over his ex in the law courts.

However, McCartney says, "I always do that. But that's what it's all about - peace on earth for everybody."

"I'm hoping it'll soon be over."

Meanwhile, Mills arrived at the Royal Courts of Justice yesterday to file an "urgent High Court application" before judge Mr. Justice Singer.

Mills, pictured above in her "Dancing" duds for the first time, has been busy practicing for her TV turn with partner Jonathan Roberts.

She will be the first "Dancing" contestant with an artificial limb.

The former model, now a U.N. goodwill ambassador and animal-rights activist, lost her leg in a 1993 motorcycle accident.

But that hasn't stopped Mills from being a running enthusiast who still cuts the rug like nobody's business, friends say.

Mills had a court date with McCartney in London yesterday.

She's battling the ex-Beatle for a piece of his billion-dollar fortune.

Paul McCartney's estranged wife was back at the High Court in England today.

Heather Mills arrived unannounced at the Royal Courts of Justice in central London shortly after 2pm.

It is understood that she is to make an application before High Court judge Mr Justice Singer, but the details of what it entails are not known.

Miss Mills was seen outside Court 32 where the judge is sitting to hear "urgent High Court applications".

A member of her entourage said she would not be making any comment.

Last Thursday, both she and McCartney attended the High Court for a private hearing in their divorce battle.

While the former Beatle, who is said to be worth £825m (¤1.2bn), appeared chirpy when he left the Queen's Building, smiling and whistling, Miss Mills made a low-key exit.

The hearing last week, held before Mr Justice Bennett, was strictly in private but was believed to be a preliminary action before the main divorce case.

But, given free rein of a keyboard, and a very different picture emerges. Because the 39-year-old activist seems to have discovered a new weapon in her armour - her personal website.

So, less than a week after appearing opposite her estranged husband in London's High Court to discuss child maintenance issues, Miss Mills has let rip with yet another internet rant.

It is the fourth time in eight weeks that she has used her homepage to try and defend herself and attack the media.

This latest instalment comes after the former model's claims that McCartney physically attacked her and mocked her disability were reportedly thrown out by the judge.

Speaking via her website, Heathermills.org, the vociferous campaigner claims she is a victim of 'character assassination'.

Bizarrely, she quotes from the cult online encyclopaedia, wikipedia, suggesting that media coverage of her has abused her 'morals, integrity and reputation', and caused her to become a social outcast, 'rejected' by her friends and family.

She writes: 'Character assassination is an intentional attempt to influence the portrayal or reputation of a particular person, whether living or a historical personage, in such a way as to cause others to develop an extremely negative, unethical or unappealing perception of him or her.

'For living individuals, this can cause the target to be rejected by his or her community, family, or members of his or her living or work environment.

'Such acts are typically very difficult to reverse or rectify, therefore the process is likened to a literal assassination of a human life. The damage sustained can be life-long and more, or for historical personages, last for many centuries after their death.

'In practice, character assassination usually consists of the spreading of rumours and deliberate misinformation on topics relating to one's morals, integrity, and reputation.'

Embarrassingly, given the emergence of pornographic photographs of Miss Mills last year following repeated claims that she worked as a prostitute in her 20s, she later includes an excerpt about 'sexual deviancy'.

Indeed, she concludes her defamation polemic with the words: 'In politics, perhaps the most common form of character assassination is the spread of allegations that a candidate is a liar.

'Other common themes may include allegations that the candidate is a bad or unpopular member of his family, has a bad relationship with his spouse or children, is disrespected by his former co-workers, or routinely engages in disturbing, socially unacceptable behaviour, such as sexual deviancy.'

This is not the first time that Miss Mills, who announced her divorce from McCartney last May after a four-year marriage, has used her website to hit out at stories written about her - despite pleas from her advisers to remain silent.

Under the heading 'Enough is Enough', Miss Mills' sister, Fiona, issued a 500 word diatribe in defence of her older sibling.

In it, she accused McCartney of putting both Miss Mills and her daughter Beatrice's lives at risk by refusing to pay for bodyguards to counter the death threats she has received.

Intriguingly though, the words were later redrafted, reportedly over fears that they might damage Miss Mills's divorce settlement.

The former Beatle was seen emerging from a court hearing and flashed a "V" for victory sign while Mills emerged looking like a woman scorned. The ugly divorce battle is being played out in front of a judge and on front pages.

While it's too soon to declare a winner, those keeping score say McCartney seems to be up by a couple of touchdowns.

"Sir Paul McCartney has come out and done the thumbs up sign, we're all thinking, 'Oh, he's got one over on her.' Don't underestimate the power of Heather Mills. She's ruthless," entertainment reporter Neil Sean told CBS News correspondent Mark Phillips. "And what we quite like about the fact is that while she's playing this rather sickly, sweet, serene person, remember this is a woman who bagged a billionaire, if you like, from nowhere with a checkered past."

A marriage that only lasted four years seems to have had a lot crammed into it. Most of it, according to Mills, was bad. Leaked court papers have revealed she's accused McCartney of violent abuse. He has countered by accusing her of lying and calling her a fantasist. According to courtroom sources, McCartney's claims have made more of an impression on the judge.

British attorney Mark Stephens said that the court battle has taken a toll on Mills. She recently had an outburst in court which raised many eyebrows in the London legal community.

"There was shouting heard from inside the courtroom and she came bursting out, was in tears and had to be consoled," Stephens told The Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith. "Clearly this truth and lies dossier is starting to get to her. They started to undermine her credibility at every possible turn taking every public utterance she's made about the marriage and the relationship and undermined it so she has no standing before the judge. So the judge can't believe anything she has to say. That seems to be the tactic. Her legal team seems to be out-lawyered."

Stephens said the McCartney team has examined whether Mills was a prostitute or whether she posed for explicit photos, making the experience as harrowing as possible for her. Not only has McCartney's lawyers' tactics worked in court, they have also damaged Mills in the court of public opinion.

"In the battle for the PR, it really has to be Sir Paul McCartney," Sean said. "You've got to remember that he's got a 40-year history of people being in love with him and his music."

Both their reputations are at stake as is McCartney's reported $1.5 billion fortune and the fate of their daughter, Beatrice. She maybe down, but Sean says don't count Heather Mills out.

"This is a woman who is made of steel, hard as nails, she will come back," he said. "One way or another, Sir Paul will be paying for this marriage for a long, long time to come."

England seems firmly against Mills, who will star in the upcoming "Dancing with the Stars." She has said she wants to move to Los Angeles and take Beatrice with her.

"Sir Paul, who's been paying taxes in this country, a British resident, a British citizen and in those circumstances he obviously doesn't want to do that because he wants to see his daughter," Stephens said. "That's an issue, which is clearly going to be very live between them. I think at the end of the day, Heather is going to have to end up staying in this country with Beatrice just so Paul can see her."

March 5, 2007 -- The Daily Mail

Beatrice Mills-McCartney steals the show (UPDATE)

As a member of the most successful group in history, Sir Paul McCartney is used to heads turning wherever he goes.

But (February 25 - Miller's 2nd birthday party) he found himself competing for centre stage when his three-year-old daughter Beatrice stole the show.

In a bright pink tutu teamed with matching tights and shoes, she looked like a princess - and was treated like one by her accompanying entourage.

Oblivious to her father's other troubles, the little girl had just one thing on her mind - waving a silver wand and beaming with delight as carers and fellow stars cooed over her.

Sir Paul, 64, seemed content to stay out of the limelight as he successfully juggled two bags in one hand while clutching tightly onto his daughter.

The pair, accompanied by fellow ex-Beatle Ringo Starr and his wife Barbara Bach, were leaving a west London party where the guests included his other daughters Stella, 35, and Mary, 37.

Sir Paul has long been known to dote on his children and they in turn have spoken of their attachment to their father.

He and estranged wife Heather Mills, 39, put their differences to one side for blonde Beatrice's third birthday party last year at Clambers play centre in Hastings, east Sussex.

There the little girl paraded happily in another pink frock and indulged in cake and entertainment as her parents looked on.

Unlike her fabulous Parisian counterparts, Stella McCartney doesn't need to put on a show or remind us of the "construct" of fashion and its mise en scene. Using both wit and craftsmanship she does what she does best-- make clothing that's cheeky and fun and worn with little effort. Instead, per usual, McCartney did something few designers can do: create clothing that will sell not because they are items and colors that we know and love but because she's made us want something new and interesting.

McCartney's charm lies in her ability to edit both her collection and each piece. Whether it's her short-skirted suit ensembles, shimmering champagne dresses, or grey skinny pant emsembles she doesn't overwhelm the eye but, rather, directs it. For example: Bright fushia dresses, jumpsuits and even a pullover hoodie were sent down the runway as blocks of color. Initially mesmerized, once the eye adjusted to the color it finds the detail within-- it's not competing with anything else. The exceptions are pink shoes, which look smashing paired with her china white V-neck sweater that balances the short, shiny skirts that stays a couple inches above the knee-- but these also accomplish quite a bit, as they deter the possibility of the light colors from fading into the long legs of the model. The pink shoes perk you up.. they startle you and bring your eyes back up to the top. Very smart and very stylish... very Stella.

She has emerged from her famous father's shadow to forge a solid career in fashion and her sought-after designs are heading to a Target store near you, Samantha Lane writes.

"I'M full of contradictions," says Stella McCartney. "Which is good."

Contradictions, many beyond her control, have surrounded her. Such as the fact that she was born to a couple of international superstars who were determined to put their children through a state school.

Now 35, the daughter of former Beatle Paul and first wife Linda is discussing how she tries to keep normal working hours, like a normal working mother, so she can live a normal kind of existence. And yet this fashion designer has always had at her fingertips means and opportunities to do things the majority can only dream of.

McCartney, who was heavily pregnant with her second child, daughter Bailey, at the time of this interview, acknowledges that she's been given an access-all-opportunities pass in life.

"How many people do you know that can create an organic skin-care range? That can have access to do that? And how many people do you know that would love to? I have this friend who's a make-up artist and it would be her dream to do that. So I'm not just going to sit and say I can't be bothered and go and live on a beach. I'm a worker, you know, it's what I've done."

But she immediately adds: "I would have spent my last three months of pregnancy in bed, you know, and nurturing my child and talking to it every day because I'm an animal, really, and I'm pregnant. So I'd rather be in the country connecting with that, but I also enjoy my job."

McCartney's haute couture pieces have been worn by the rich and very famous (she designed the wedding dress of friend Madonna for her marriage to Guy Ritchie), yet in 2005 she agreed to create a limited edition range for European clothing chain store H&M.

Recently, McCartney agreed to do the same thing in Australia. On March 12, Target will unveil an exclusive, 42-piece, Stella McCartney range: chunky cardies, tailored jackets, swing coats, dresses and blouses.

Apparently, McCartney's mates Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Moss and Cate Blanchett have already requested copies of the range for their wardrobes.

McCartney hopes her antipodean collaboration proves as successful as her first chain-store designs, although she doesn't sound too familiar with Target's work.

"I know that it's kind of quite good, hopefully," she says. "I gather it's not far off H&M. That's what I'm hoping."

She's heard of the store's fashionista alias, at least: "Is it Tarjay or something like that?"

Call it the "shop up" effect: chain-store collaborations have proved the salvation of McCartney's five-year-old eponymous label, which she established after leaving the French label Chloe.

Stella McCartney was trading at a multimillion-dollar loss in 2004, when the Gucci Group gave her three years to become profitable. Now, after designing a sportswear line for adidas and making headlines when women rioted over her clothes at H&M, she is on course to turn a profit.

"I'm not really hugely into the elitist side of fashion," she says, which seems an odd comment for a catwalk designer.

"And, while I do get disappointed that my clothes can be on the expensive side, on the other hand I do want to work with the best fabrics, the best craftsmen. It does come with a price tag sometimes."

Elitist and approachable? It's quite a combination. Positively contradictory.

Like her late mother Linda - photographer, vegetarian food purveyor and animal liberationist - McCartney has stood out for speaking out. In an industry that uses animal products at will, she produced a bamboo shoe. She refuses to work with fur and leather.

But contradictions present themselves in even the strictest of environs. The char-grilled smell of chicken from a hawker stall outside fills the minimalist foyer of her Notting Hill atelier where a tall, dark and classically fashionable man meets and greets.

He is wearing a leather belt and leather shoes. He is also the managing director of the company.

The studio itself - a double-storey, sign-less, completely white building - is an anomaly on Notting Hill's shabby-chic Golborne Road, lined with op shops and Moroccan takeaways.

McCartney's clothing is far from bold, but is big on detail. Her shop in Mayfair is nothing short of beautiful. Sparkling beads and all kinds of pretty random objects are sewn onto the walls. The change rooms are like miniature art galleries.

"The shops are key. I worked hard on those shops. I'm glad [they are] a reflection of me," she says. "The thing is, I'm the brand so I do get very personal about everything."

Except in interviews. The message from McCartney's PR manager, communicated via email, was that discussion "can't be too personal with questions related to her family/baby/pregnancy/husband/father . . . can't be about her favourite colour or flower, her latest holidays or the last time she had dinner with her famous friends".

There was no mention of Heather Mills on the banned list - Paul McCartney's former wife whom Stella apparently disliked - but that, presumably, went without saying.

But, as it happens, McCartney is unashamedly personal about the way she approaches business. "With everything I do, I have to see the need in order for me to do it. Like when I did my perfume."

Surely this is a little rich.

"I know there's a million perfumes on the market," McCartney says, without prompting. "I felt that perfumes were really offensive to customers. I felt they were really cheap, with really ugly packaging. They were corporate things just making money.

"I worked effing hard on creating a perfume that I think is a beautiful perfume, that I think your mum will wear, that you'll wear and that, I don't know if you have kids, but if you have kids, they'll wear it one day and it will remind them of you.

"To me, that's what perfume is. It's directly linked to your memory gland and it's important."

How did the birth of her son, Miller Alasdhair James, now two, affect the way she operates?

"Well, I'm going to have a breakdown on Wednesday, I've decided," McCartney says. "It's harder work than having a job. It's affected me in that I prioritise my family [her husband is publisher Alasdhair Willis], but I always have.

"It's affected me in that I leave the office - I have to be home at 5.30 now in the evenings to relieve my nanny.

"One of the first things when I got pregnant with Miller, the sort of negative press I got was like, 'Oh, she'll give up fashion now'. It was like, 'Oh, how f---ing male-chauvinistic is that?'

"But how has it changed the way I work and stuff? I don't know. It hasn't really. I'm just more efficient. Everyone's more efficient with my time."

McCartney's personal assistant promptly announces that the 20-minute sitting is up. "You have to move on," he says.

To which McCartney responds: "So I can get home, so that I can prioritise my child."

Home time is something that even Stella McCartney is trying to keep consistent.

This report is a complete fabrication of proceedings in court on this day. It is designed in order to create a false History of events. They have no consideration to what Beatrice will read in the future.

None of Heather's petition was thrown out in court. Please would the tabloid media refrain from printing these lies and respect the wishes of the court. On the 1st March 2007 a Joint statement was drafted in court by Paul & Heather because of more lies printed in the Sun newspaper on the morning of the second days proceedings. Most tabloids have not printed this statement in full as it does not suit their agenda.

I cannot believe that the Sun newspaper has the audacity to print even more lies when Heather already has one libel case against them.

Fiona Mills

UPDATE

April 1, 2007 -- The Sunday Mirror

WE'RE SORRY

On March 4 under the headline "BEATLED", we published an article claiming that a High Court judge in the Heather Mills McCartney divorce proceedings had thrown out some of her claims against Paul McCartney as being inadmissible and that she had been exposed in court as a fantasist and a liar about those claims and about her previous public statements, leading her to erupt with rage and shout and rant before breaking down in floods of tears.

We now accept, that the judge did not throw out any of her claims, she was not portrayed as a liar in court and she did not erupt with rage. We apologise to Heather Mills McCartney for any distress or embarrassment caused and have agreed to pay her damages and legal costs.

Yet once you have had your wallow, felt the pain and wondered what the point of it all was, thinking positive becomes not only possible, but the best option. You begin to look forward more than backward, are able to say "put that one down to experience" and almost mean it.

The person who knows most about this is an unlikely expert. If you want to spend a night thinking through all the stages - of love in this instance - from falling in love, to the certainty that "this is the one", to the doubts, the bitterness, the recriminations and name calling, to the forgiveness, to the healed person ready for love again, there is one person who is head and shoulders over all the self-help books, psychologists and counsellors, and that is Paul McCartney.

Anyone who wonders if they will ever get to the other side of despair could do no better than to put Macca's "Chaos and Creation in the Backyard" on the iPod and plug themselves in for a week.

The first time I heard it, I - like most - had no idea that his outwardly idyllic marriage was falling apart. I thought one of the nasty songs about the desperate need for publicity was a dig at Yoko.

Now we know he was saying that Heather had got so self-obsessed that she had nothing left to give him:

"Friendship ought to be showing support for the one that you love, but you didn't seem to have any to spare, while you were riding to Vanity Fair."

Like any good lover, Paul McCartney gave a lot (and he had a lot to give). It hurt when it stopped coming back. People sneer at McCartney, usually without listening to the words. Since the mid-Sixties he has turned out a lot of deeply personal material. And since he is just another human soul, we have a fair bit to learn from him. In Chaos... we find him thinking about falling in love again after a famously happy marriage:

"I'm very sure, this never happened to me before. Now I see this is the way it is supposed to be, this is the way it should be for lovers, they shouldn't go it alone. It's not so good when you are on your own."

And when it all begins to go sour, he never tries to deny what he once felt:

"I gave my promise to you girl, I don't want to take it back." He threw a lifeline, and I suspect many lifelines, as he hoped his new wife had the maturity to know what a good relationship was. And you feel the hurt when he sings gently to her that she is not aware of what she put him through. His disappointment is painful. It is "too much for anyone who wants a peaceful life". And we've all been there.

But having documented the despair as being just too much in one short life, he decides it is time to put on the brave face. It's "time to get on with the show".

Before long he is bouncing back with the positive lines:

"Like the sun that rises every day, we can chase the dark clouds from the sky."

Yep. Our boy is smiling again. And I do love the sting in the tail:

"Laugh when your eyes are burning, smile when your heart is filled with pain, sigh as you brush away your sorrow, make a vow that it's not going to happen again."

Some chance! We all walk in again as if we have not learned anything. But have a good listen to Paul, and you might make a better fist of it next time.

John Masterson is a doctor of psychology

Sir Paul McCartney believes he is on the brink of a sensational victory in his divorce battle with Heather Mills.

After two days locked behind closed doors in court 47 at the High Court in London, he told friends: "The judge is a good guy. He's on our side. We've won every point to date."

The Sunday Mirror can today reveal exactly what happened when the warring parties in Britain's most explosive divorce came face-to-face in court this week before Mr Justice Bennett.

Heather's claims that Sir Paul physically attacked her and mocked her amputated leg were forensically dissected in a two-day assault on her credibility.

Sir Paul, 64, and Heather, 39, met in great secrecy - their famous surname was left off all public literature.

Only the number FD06D03721 was used to identify the case as they sat inside just yards away from each other.

But the Sunday Mirror today reveals how:

Heather sat stunned with her lawyer when Paul's team produced a "truth and lies" dossier after trawling through her every public utterance.

Heather was left shouting in rage by Sir Paul's step-by-step exposure of her as a "fantasist".

Sir Paul had such a detailed demolition of her claims that Heather is convinced a mole in her camp is leaking information to him.

She has been told by aides to agree a rapid settlement before any more damage is done.

Afterwards a relieved Sir Paul told friends: "The judge has got the measure of her. She started shouting and ranting at one point."

The two sides met on Wednesday and Thursday to decide which, if any, of Heather's extraordinary claims about Sir Paul could be used in court during the battle for his £825 million fortune.

Expert divorce lawyer Caitlin Jenkins last night explained that the gloves were now off in what is set to be one of the bloodiest divorce battles of recent times.

She said: "It seems this has become a rare example of a Defended Divorce - it's a war of attrition, where neither side is willing to throw in the towel.

"They have reached a stalemate where they are both waiting for the other to crack."

The hearings - described by Ms Jenkins as "interim posturings" - were also to discuss Heather's maintenance claim to support her and Beatrice plus security costs. She wants 24/7 security but Sir Paul feels she should only have it when their daughter is with her.

Court papers leaked last year showed she had intended claiming Sir Paul assaulted her four times - including stabbing her with a wine glass stem and grabbing her by the throat. She portrayed him as a cannabis smoking wino who was regularly drunk and who had cruelly taunted her over her disability.

Sir Paul vehemently denies all of these claims.

Heather went into court smiling and expecting the hearings to be straightforward.

But after the judge ruled that much of her material was inadmissible, she left the courtroom, her eyes hidden behind dark sunglasses, to compose herself - deeply wounded by the negative turn of events.

By contrast Sir Paul left smiling, whistling and flashing his trademark peace sign, which doubled as a V-for-Victory gesture.

A legal source revealed: "Heather thought everything would be very simple. She was gobsmacked by how Paul countered all her points. Paul had not only addressed the things she has put in her petition. He had also prepared a dossier which he believes proves the lies she has told over the years.

"He wants to prove beyond all reasonable doubt that she is a liar. The more Paul can discredit her, even over the smallest lie, the stronger his case becomes."

The couple, whose four-year marriage broke up last May, sat through seven hours of preliminary legal combat over two days. Sir Paul had Nicholas Mostyn QC leading his legal team, assembled by his solicitor Fiona Shackleton. She is one of the brilliant minds at law firm Payne Hicks Beach - and counts Princes William and Harry as clients. She also represented Prince Charles in his divorce battle with Princess Diana while Lady Heather was represented by Martin Pointer QC. Her solicitor Anthony Julius - who also represented Diana - was in court with her.

The two sides discussed maintenance and security for their daughter Beatrice, three. Heather says she is broke and needs cash to support herself and the child.

The legal informant said: "They did not sort out the security issue. Heather wants round-the-clock protection. She feels she needs security with her at all times, especially as she has had death threats."

Nothing was decided about security - because most of the time was spent over the admissibility of evidence.

Sir Paul's aides applied to introduce evidence that she was a compulsive liar. The legal insider added: "His team went through interviews she has done over the years. They also went through everything she has written - from books to articles to website postings - looking for the most miniscule inconsistency. They went into all the lurid detail about her posing for a German sex manual - after saying she was only ever a model. And they looked at her denials that she was ever a prostitute. It wasn't pleasant for either of them.

"Claim by claim, line by line, all the contradictions in all her public utterances were put under the microscope.

"As the hearing went on Heather became more and more upset. She even shouted out as she began to realise her case was crumbling away. When she left the court she broke down in tears and had to be consoled. She had an angry rant about the way the case was unfolding."

And the turn of events has played on Heather's increasing paranoia. She is now convinced there must be a spy in her camp leaking information to Sir Paul's lawyers.

The insider added: "She twigged that Paul's team must have spoken to some of her friends - who have contradicted things she has said.

"Heather suddenly feels extremely isolated and alone. No-one seems to be supporting her. Heather is stunned. She thought the people around her had remained loyal.

"Now she knows she has at least one spy in her camp. She and her sister Fiona are trying to work out who it might be. They have come up with a plan to tell different people different secrets to see if they can expose the spy."

Sir Paul has told close friends he thinks he has won a great victory and that he feels the case is going his way.

Over the past few months he has maintained a poker face and said nothing in public about Heather.

Heather signed a Statement Of Truth for the court - stating that she was not behind the leak of her abuse claims.

A CLOSE friend of the ex-Beatle said: "Even when the document was leaked with horrible allegations he did not say a word. He left it all to his lawyers, knowing his strategy would come good.

"Paul has been fuming. But he knows you don't play out these things in public. This weekend he finally allowed himself to relax - convinced he is winning. He believes the judge is siding with his legal team - and is not allowing Heather's claims to be used in the divorce."

Her strategy was to drag proceedings out for as long as possible while Sir Paul's side were keen to go for a speedy settlement - preferably out of court.

Now Heather's plan has spectacularly backfired and she has done a complete U-turn. Her aides are now briefing her to settle as soon as possible.

The legal source explained: "Right from the start Heather's side wanted to keep it going. They told her she would get more money if it took two years than if sorted in six months. Now they believe it is time to move things on and wrap the whole thing up.

"Her legal team think her submissions will not be accepted as trustworthy by the judge. That is why Paul is looking so relaxed."

Got to go but give us a Ringo

Macca met the 66-year-old drummer and his actress wife Barbara Bach, 59, as he picked up Beatrice, three, from a party (Miller's 2nd birthday party).

But he couldn't chat for long - so no doubt he'll give his old pal a ring. Ringo was one of the first to give 64-year-old Paul plenty of support after his split from wife Heather Mills, 39.

Macca - whose grown-up daughters Stella, 35, and Mary, 37, were also at the bash in Westbourne Grove, West London - looked relaxed despite the bitter High Court divorce battle.

A guitar that Paul McCartney threw into a crowd decades ago during a Beatles concert in Britain has turned up at a school in Montenegro, a report said Friday.

McCartney had tossed the Hofner Violin bass guitar into the audience after its neck broke, said the Vesti newspaper without mentioning the year of the concert.

Milan Dobrilovic, a Montenegrin cameraman, said he had received the guitar from his cousin Dario Persi who was the fan who caught the instrument.

Dobrilovic recently donated the guitar to a music school in Herceg Novi, a tiny town on the country's Adriatic coast.

The violin-shaped Hofner guitar was made famous by McCartney, who adopted it in 1961 and still uses the same model.

Guitars proven to have been owned by former Beatles members including McCartney and John Lennon have sold at auction for up to £330,000 ($640,000) in recent years.

The gesture has become a trademark salute for the former Beatle, normally intended as a symbol of peace.

But its use as he left the High Court may have been an indication that proceedings had gone in his favour.

Court batttle: Paul McCartney confidently gestures to the press as he leaves court (left) while Heather Mills bashfully hides behind dark glasses

Although he smiled and whistled, Heather Mills looked rather less cheerful.

She raised only a little smile as she left the court, where the pair have been arguing over the care of their three-year-old daughter Beatrice.

After her solicitor left, Sir Paul's estranged wife spent 50 minutes talking on her mobile phone - then left through a judges' exit at the back of the building wearing sunglasses. She was driven off by a chauffeur.

Sir Paul, 64, whose fortune is estimated at £825 million, had spent seven hours over two days wrangling with Miss Mills, 38, in a preliminary hearing over maintenance payments.

The couple, who broke up last May after a four-year marriage, sat feet apart but barely exchanged glances, allowing their lawyers to do most of the talking in the hearing, which was conducted behind closed doors.

A source said: "Heather is putting on a brave face but she is in meltdown. She had been playing hardball in the hope he would back down before the matter got to court, but that has not happened.

"The real sticking point is Beatrice. Heather wants to spend more time in the U.S, particularly as she will be taking part in Dancing With the Stars (an American version of the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing). And obviously he has a problem with his daughter being in another country.

"She is counting on judges traditionally siding with mothers in family cases."

A legal source added: "This was just the latest of a number of hearings and there are more to come. Things are far from being resolved."

The case was cloaked in so much secrecy that court staff broke protocol by refusing to list it by name outside the building and referred to it only by a case number.

A court insider said: "That was done at the bidding of the judge."

Sir Paul's lawyer Fiona Shackleton and Miss Mills's solicitor Anthony Julius were also present.

Sir Paul was represented by Nicholas Mostyn, QC, while Martin Pointer, QC, in court for Miss Mills.

From Mr. Crab: My second London celebrity encounter story in as many days: Today, I took a leak next to Paul McCartney!

Early this morning, I received a call from one of my clients, asking me to go cover a court hearing in the Paul McCartney-Heather Mills divorce case.

Acrimonious is an understatement to the McCartney's marriage woes. Both Paul and Heather have been waging their battles in the press, making some wild accusations ever since they split last May.

The case was being heard behind closed doors at the Royal Court of Justice, more commonly known as "The High Court." in central London. The complex contains nearly 100 courtrooms spread out over several buildings. McCartney's nor Mills' names did not appear on any of the daily dockets which are posted at the door, informing the public what trials are taking place that day. But the courtroom and docket number had been leaked that morning.

When I got to the courtroom entrance about 10:30am, there were already 5 reporters milling about. The hearing was closed to the public, so this was as far as we could go. Paul came in first, smiled and said "good morning" to the press. Heather came in a few steps behind him, not looking happy at all.

Peering through the glass doors, we cold see Heather and Paul, sitting less than 10 feet from each other on the same bench, flanked by lawyers and facing the judge. Outside, more reporters showed up, and we spent the next 90 minutes basically just staring at the door, occasionally getting shooed away by the court usher (BritSpeak for "bailiff"). At about noon, it appeared to be all over.

Sir Paul was smiling, shaking hands with his lawyers, looking very upbeat. He walked out of the room, past us media whores, and through a side door. "Where does that go?" I asked a reporter. "The Gents." (BritSpeak for men's room). "I dare you to follow him," said the reporter. None of the other guys were making a move. Why not? It's just a toilet.

I ran out and headed to the tiny loo. When I opened the door, Sir Paul was finishing up doing his business at one of the two urinals in the room. I walked up next to him and took the urinal to his left, not saying a word. When he finished his business, he walked over to the sink, which was just over my shoulder. Finally I got the courage and, from the urinal, I muttered something stupid like, "Oh! Sir Paul! How's it going?" His revealing, exclusive response: "Hiya. I'm alright." He ran his wet fingers through his hair, dried his hands and walked out.

And before you dirty buggers ask: NO, I did not glance down at the Beatle's bits!

Sir Paul McCartney and estranged wife Heather Mills both left court smiling yesterday after meeting to talk about money.

The couple appeared together so lawyers could "seriously" begin to thrash out an agreement for the sake of daughter Beatrice, three.

Heather, 39, is understood to be desperate for cash for her and the child and wants Macca, 64, to provide full-time minders.

The temporary truce to discuss maintenance payments and security took place at a preliminary hearing as part of their divorce proceedings at the High Court in London.

A friend of Heather, who is due to appear on the US version of Strictly Come Dancing, revealed: "They've both gone through a lot of angst but things are getting a little better. There is dialogue between them. It is a good sign.

"Heather has no money. She is giving her Dancing With the Stars fee to charity and she needs help with cash until the settlement is finalised. She believes strongly that McCartney shoud be responsible for the safety of his family and she wanted the court to sort out a temporary agreement.

"This important step shows they are both open to negotiation."

The Mirror revealed three weeks ago that Macca had "sanctioned" his legal team to offer £25 million ($49 million) to the former model, which led to "intense and heightened talks".

Sources close to the pair said it was significant they issued a joint appeal for privacy yesterday - the first since their split last May.

Heather was accompanied by her high-powered lawyer Anthony Julius, who won a £17 million settlement for Princess Diana. Macca was with Fiona Shackleton, who acted for Prince Charles.

The 90-minute hearing was behind closed doors.

One court insider said: "There was lots of activity and to-ing and fro-ing between the lawyers.

"There were lots of bits of paper flying and notes exchanged. Paul was in a room with Shackleton and the other side would knock on the door. It looked very much like they were discussing money.

"Then Shackleton and Julius went off to the stairwell for a private chat."

The insider added: "The custody issue over Beatrice is likely to be handled at a separate hearing."

McCartney gave his trademark V sign as he left the court yesterday - 45 minutes before Heather, who looked smart and composed behind dark glasses.

The couple had already spent five hours in court on Wednesday.

The judge Mr Justice Bennett is thought to have decided then which of Heather's abuse allegations can be used in the fight for his £825 million fortune.

In leaked court papers, she claimed Macca had stabbed her with a broken wine glass and pushed her when she was pregnant.

The Mirror understands Heather has signed a Statement of Truth for the court, stating she was not behind the leak. She is thought to be standing by the allegations.

Lady Mucca, 39, later stormed from the building after a judge threw out many of her lurid claims against the pop legend.

The former model and Macca, 64, had been sitting just yards apart during the tense hearing at London's High Court.

The judge was deciding which of her allegations can be used against Sir Paul in the fight over his £825 million fortune.

Pony-tailed Heather - dubbed Lady Mucca because of her porn past - was led out through the back of the building to a waiting black car.

Twenty minutes later Macca emerged smiling from the five-hour hearing and said: "See you all tomorrow."

When asked if he had any comment, he smiled again and added: "No, but nice of you to ask, thank you."

He was then driven off at speed in a blue 4x4 with blacked-out windows.

Mucca - said to have turned down a £25 million ($49 million) offer from Sir Paul three weeks ago - was accompanied to the hearing by her solicitor Anthony Julius, who won a £17million divorce settlement for Princess Diana.

Macca was with Fiona Shackleton, who acted for Prince Charles in the Royal split.

Previous attempts by their lawyers to avoid a messy divorce hearing have all failed.

Court officials yesterday went to extraordinary lengths to try to ensure the five-hour hearing before Mr Justice Benders was kept hush-hush.

No names were pinned up outside Court No 47 and the case, set to last a day and a half, was identified only by its number - FD06D03721.

Inside, both Macca and Mucca occasionally leaned over to whisper to their solicitors.

Neither of the warring couple was called to give evidence in the witness box.

The couple have a three-year- old daughter Beatrice, but it was unclear whether custody of the youngster was discussed.

He had just faced his estranged wife Heather Mills at the High Court in the first round of their fight over Sir Paul's estimated £825 million fortune.

Wearing a grey suit and burgundy tie, Sir Paul left the hearing before Mr Justice Bennett in Court 47 accompanied by his solicitor, Fiona Shackleton, who acted for Prince Charles in his divorce.

Miss Mills, who arrived in dark sunglasses, was with her solicitor Anthony Julius, who handled Princess Diana's divorce. She left court through the judge's chambers.

Mills, who lost a leg in an accident, is due to fly to the US soon to rehearse for an American reality television show based on the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing.

Sir Paul McCartney seemed in a chirpy mood as he left London's High Court at the end of a private hearing in his divorce battle.

However, his estranged wife, Heather Mills, made a low-key exit.

She walked impassively past the media with her eyes hidden behind dark glasses and made no comment.

She made her way through the back of the building, using a private judges' exit, and was ushered into the front seat of a waiting, chauffeur-driven car.

Sir Paul, sharply-suited, left shortly after noon accompanied by his solicitor Fiona Shackleton.

His departure came three quarters of an hour before that of Miss Mills.

None of the lawyers would confirm that the present proceedings are over, but all the legal documents were removed from the courtroom.

The manner of the former Beatles star, who is said to be worth £825million, was in sharp contrast to the serious-looking Miss Mills.

She also ignored the media when she towed a case full of her legal papers into the court this morning.

The hearing, which began yesterday before Mr Justice Bennett, was strictly in private but was believed to be a preliminary action before the main divorce case.

Staff at a top London dance studio breathe a sigh of relief as Heather Mills quit the studio after just one day.

Sir Paul McCartney's ex had booked Pineapple Dance Studios in Covent Garden for this entire week to undergo secret practice sessions with top choreographers for Dancing With The Stars - but pulled out at the last minute.

During her one day in the posh London venue Heather insisted the blinds were always closed and was strict on security.

She didn't want anybody finding out she was there, especially after a disability campaign group attacked her this week for using her disabled parking badge even though she's taking part in a dancing show.

The former model, 39, also had staff on call at all times in case she needed anything so they're probably glad she's gone.

One onlooker said: "They hadn't seen anything like it since Madonna filmed a music video there last year. She was quite demanding."

But Heather didn't get off scott free - she has to fork out over £50 an hour for the entire week she booked for.

They also said: "Staff were left with no option but to hand her a bill for the entire week, even though she's not using the studio, which she agreed to pay without fuss."

Heather had also booked the studio for a big magazine photoshoot - but she has pulled out of that too.

Dancing With The Stars, the American version of Strictly Come Dancing, hits American screens on March 19 and the other celebs set to take part include former NSYNC member Joey Fatone, Beverly Hills 90210 actor Ian Ziering and singer Billy Ray Cyrus.

It's a mystery why Heather cancelled her bookings out of the blue. Perhaps it's the stress of her bitter divorce from Sir Paul.

She appeared in the High Court today, for the second day, to hear whether her allegations of physical and mental abuse can be used in their divorce battle.

Or maybe the thought of dancing on TV has only just hit her.

Yet just a couple of days ago she seemed confident saying: "I have no fear; I'm happy to be thrown around. It's very unlikely my leg's going to fly off, even though it'd be funny to knock one of the judges out. In my mad, crazy life, it's actually going to be great fun."

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Macca Report news continues with February 2007

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