Heather Mills: battle weary but not beaten

Heather Mills may be suffering the slings, arrows and accusations of outrageous fortune hunting on all fronts at the moment, thanks to her divorce from Sir Paul McCartney, but she is, despite it all, keeping up a media-savvy brand development which would suggest that she’ll last a lot longer in the public eye than many might hope or expect. She clearly has a keen eye for headlines and the world of celebrity. And there’s no doubt that she’s good at targeting events that will engender sympathy in the long run.

Take her appearance on Dancing With the Stars, which she is competing in to “inspire others with a disability”. The main criticism from the judges was directed at her arm movements during the foxtrot – this for a woman who lost a leg. Of course there are a number of Beatle fanatics who are demanding a boycott of the show, but after Heather’s performance they are beginning to look a little unkind. There are even bets being taken on whether he prosthetic limb will fly off during the show, but the only thing Dancing With the Stars is likely to send flying is her post-divorce career.

Signs are good for Mills’ brand of animal welfare activism too, with much coverage being given to her recent invasion of a pig farm. Simply, Mills is carefully redeveloping her brand of celebrity-driven agit prop, based on the long-term interests that have sustained her for years, in the midst of the tabloid-engendered chaos. A quick scan of Google news results shows that she’s beginning to have some success.

The fire-fight surrounding the divorce, once Heather’s weathered it, will clearly prove useful for her. It will allow her a life beyond the acrimony, funded by the alimony, however much that turns out to be. She can’t fight Macca head-on but she can deliver up the headlines that will keep her in the public eye – eventually journalists will learn to love her for this, if nothing else.