Watch Heather Mills on Dancing in the Stars

Heather Mills won praise from the judges today as she became the first contestant with an artificial leg to compete on US TV show Dancing With The Stars.

But viewers – including many Beatles fans – slammed the estranged wife of Sir Paul McCartney on the show's online messageboard. One, "Leneda", warned that Mills, 38, would not get “the sympathy vote”.

Leneda added: "This is America, If your (sic) a class-A B***CH we will let you know. Your handicap does not endear us to you and you are the WORST role model for a handicapped person."

Meanwhile, "kmoconnor13" wrote: "She is not a star! She is a money grubbing (sic) idiot who complains that Paul makes her crawl to the bathroom at night, but now she thinks she can dance.”

The comments – many of which centre on the former model’s expected multimillion pound divorce payout – come after Mills scored 18 out of 30 for her foxtrot with dance partner Jonathan Roberts. Six other couples were ahead of them in the rankings, but they left four more trailing in their wake.

Mills, dressed in a flowing sequinned pink and yellow dress with pink elbow-length gloves which she admitted made her feel like an ice-cream sundae, said: "I'm just glad I didn't fall over. I thought I'd be the lowest so I'm pleased."

The judges applauded her decision to enter the competition despite only having one leg, and said her biggest problems had been above the waist. Choreographer Carrie Ann Inaba told her: "You've got to watch your arms. When you're worried about your leg and your weight on your leg, your shoulders get really tense."

Bruno Tonioli told Mills, who was shown taking a tumble during training: "You've got more guts than Rambo. The thing to pick on was actually the top half. Watch your frame, neck to shoulder frame."

Len Goodman, who insisted she would be judged by exactly the same standards as the other dancers, said: "There was far more right about that routine than there was wrong."

The highest score went to former NSync star Joey Fatone, who got 24 points for his jokey cha cha cha. Achy Breaky Heart singer Billy Ray Cyrus fared worst, only managing 13. Tonioli said he looked like a "crazy bear in a swamp".

The 11 couples will perform again next Monday. One will be booted off the following night.

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