Mills gets mixed reception at US pageant

Heather Mills got a mixed reception when she was introduced as a judge at the Miss USA 2008 pageant last night.

The former wife of Sir Paul McCartney helped to decide the winner of the competition, which was held at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.

The contest, which was broadcast on live television in the US, saw Mills receive both cheers and jeers when she was introduced to the audience.

Just hours earlier, Heather had told GMTV that she enjoyed spending time in the States because the reaction to her is "99% positive". She also insisted that she does not mind being a divisive figure, explaining that she draws strength from her charity work.

Once the contest was over, Mills was asked what had impressed her most. She replied: "I mean, a long ... 25 years ago, I did one of these competitions, a long long time ago. And it's a lot of work, people don't understand they look for this and work for this for years and years and years. Really, really difficult job this, but 20 times harder to walk out there and be brave enough."