Online Bingo Celebrity Column!

Messy splits and custody battles have been on our minds over the past couple of weeks. Of course, we all know by now that Paul McCartney and Heather Mills have split and it has so far been one very messy one. With leaked allegations of domestic violence from Heather, it’s all turning rather sour. Sir Paul has said he will not try and take custody of their child away from Heather, but whether he’ll maintain this reasoned approach in the face of Heather’s leaked accusations (in the divorce papers) is hard to call. She stated that Sir Paul stabbed her with a broken wine glass in a drunken rage; pushed her over a coffee table (again in a state of drunken inebriation) before falling down a hill and cutting his arm; pushed her into a bath when she was pregnant; smoked cannabis regularly, and more besides.

One thing seems clear though, Sir Paul’s status as an ex Beatle has secured his status as a British institution (the man got a knighthood after all), whereas Heather seems almost vilified by some sections of the press and media. Paul was part of one of the biggest British bands of all time, one that is widely agreed to have influenced and changed the shape of pop music. Heather was a low budget model before she met Sir Paul and isn’t Linda McCartney; a woman who much more effectively endeared herself to the British public and whose marriage to Paul ended because of her tragic death to cancer rather than through divorce, leaving her reputation untarnished.

Reports of Linda and Paul’s children, namely Stella, disliking Heather, have not helped her case. And she is younger, he is rich and therefore she must surely be after his money and be a terrible person at that. Well, I can think of easier ways to get your hands on some fast cash than marrying some famous bloke and starting a family; playing bingo for money here at Mecca for example! (Perhaps someone should have told Mrs Macca about Mecca and saved her some bother).

So she posed for some "blue" pictures a few years ago... does that make her a bad person? And she lied about them .... Does that mean we should automatically doubt her claims of suffering in the face of her estranged husband’s arrogance and ego? Perhaps we should be careful of judging the situation based on how we perceive two very public personas. The real test will be whether they can keep their daughter relatively unscathed from the bitter settlement battles and continued media circus that will surely ensue.