Estranged stepdad supports Heather Mills

Heather Mills has received support from her estranged stepfather in her divorce claim battle with Sir Paul McCartney.

Charles Stapley – who once starred in Crossroads – has not seen Mills since 1989 after she married businessman Alfie Karmal. Her mother Beatrice left her family for the actor when she was nine.

But Stapley has come to Mills' defence and argued that she deserves her the £200 million settlement she has asked for.

"People are blinded by the sheer size of the money. But that doesn't make her evil," he told the Evening Standard. "Why should £200 million be considered excessive if a man is worth £800 million?

"Why should the size of the settlement be held against her? Why should she be branded a gold digger?" He continued: "She didn't beg him to marry her. He was quite grown-up when he married her – he was 61 or something. It's just a percentage of his wealth."

Stapley added that the former model, now 38, had a difficult childhood. "I feel sorry for her," he explained. "She has become a hated woman."