Ex-Beatle's ex-to-be tries luck as a hoofer on "Dancing With the Stars"

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1. Will you be watching? 2. Do you think Americans Love Her? 3. Do you think her atificial leg will "go flying"? 4. Would you bet on the possibility?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 waltzes onto our TV screens Monday night 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. Critics claim she's a phony 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. ... 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 CNN's Larry King, brandished two more on her second appearance with him and has already removed the leg for her latest publicity shots 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. 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. 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."http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/PrintStory.pl?document_id=2003620312&zsection_id=2002119662&slug=heathermc16&date=20070316 Will Heather Mills’ leg go flying on ‘Stars’? ‘No’ the favorite in online betting as to whether prosthetic limb will fly off Heather Mills will be paired with professional dancer Jonathan Roberts on "Dancing with the Stars," which returns on March 19. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17577784/ Photo Ex Beatle McCartney/Heather Mills