It was a request she could not refuse. But when manicurist Kerry Newman was summoned by Heather Mills-McCartney, her heart was in her mouth.

What – and who – would she find at Heather's £2 million beach-front home? The aggrieved single mother battling through the most prominent divorce case in British legal history, or a truculent diva whose temper is the stuff of legend?

Kerry, a 34-year-old mother of two, spent six months tending to Heather's nails – an experience, as she tells The Mail on Sunday, she is unlikely to forget.

One beautiful summer day in June last year I was with my kids who were paddling at the Beach Park near the West Pier in Brighton – all the mums go there – and popped into the cafe.

Inside, I overheard Heather Mills. She was with her daughter Beatrice and her security guard and she was really running Paul McCartney down, saying he was trying to poison Beatrice against her and declaring: "It's all about the money for Paul."

I thought it was a bit bad her letting every Tom, Dick and Harry hear that.

It's not the sort of thing you should want strangers to know.

But I rang my partner Darren, told him about Heather being there and asked if he thought I should approach her with one of my business cards. He said: "Yeah, why not?"

It might seem a bit strange to be so forward, but for my job you have to get the word out.

Insider: Kerry Newman was surprised at how frank Heather was with her about her divorce and other problems, even on the first appointment to do her nails

I've not been a manicurist that long, but I think I'm good. So I went back in, walked up to Heather and politely asked if she'd be interested in me giving her manicures.

She was very sweet and said: "It's nice you should come up and ask me."

I didn't really think I would hear from her. But, two or three weeks later, she rang and asked me if I could get round to her house in Hove that day to give her a gel overlay treatment on her fingernails.

It's like a French manicure, but the gel sets hard and doesn't chip. A lot of celebrities have it. She also wanted a pedicure.

Our first appointment

I'd been expecting quite a lavish house, but it's not all that amazing. I've been in much more beautiful houses.

The decor was quite bohemian, with the odd Tiffany lamp, a canopy over the bed, lots of velvet cushions and throws.

I sat and waited for Heather for about 40 minutes, sitting in the living room with Lizzie, the housekeeper, and Beatrice, who was watching Chitty Chitty Bang Bang on the big plasma telly.

Beatrice said: "And who are you?" like quite a little madam, but she is really cute. She has Paul's big eyes.

Heather is a real doting mum.

She told me she spends hours just watching her. But she wouldn't want any more kids.

Beatrice sleeps in the next room to Heather – in a real girly pink princess room.

Eventually, Ben Amigoni, her fitness trainer, came downstairs and said: "Heather will see you now."

He carried my bags upstairs into her bedroom where I would always do her treatments.

The room is quite ornate with a big French-style bed with a lace canopy over the top and books about art and spirituality beside it.

There's a jug and bowl, lots of Venetian glass, and mirrors.

There were a few spare prosthetic legs on a chair.

Big doors lead out to a deck overlooking the sea. There's an en-suite bathroom, and a huge walk-in wardrobe filled with clothes and shoes.

I didn't think the house was particularly clean and the downstairs was quite untidy.

There was no evidence of Paul in the house, except for a few Beatles DVDs stacked by the TV.

But there is a lot of evidence of Heather's career, things such as photos to do with her charity work, and her stint on Dancing With The Stars (the American version of Strictly Come Dancing) which she's really proud of.

Before I met her, all I really knew was what I'd read.

She didn't sound a very nice person – and I'm not a Beatles fan.

In fact, they were all very nice people, and it was quite laid-back there, although they all had walkie-talkies so they could speak to the security guy.

Heather was not at all guarded. She kept going on about the Press, what she'd been through, all the hate mail and death threats she'd had. She was really going off on one about that.

I was surprised how open she was but I felt she was slightly not quite right, although lovely with it. Quite vulnerable and lonely.

Heather always kept her prosthetic leg on, even when I treated her real leg.

In the middle of our first appointment, she asked to take a break so she could see a chiropractor.

So that day I was there about three-and-a-half hours.

An appointment normally takes about two hours, so being kept waiting all that extra time meant my later appointments would be affected and I was pretty annoyed, but there wasn't a lot I could do about it.

I didn't want to upset Heather.

When you tell people you're treating someone like that, it's "Oh my goodness." Name-dropping does help!

Support: Heather's sister Fiona, whom she speaks to every day, and trainer Ben Amigoni, who is at his employer's beck-and-call

Her entourage

Heather would ring me for an appointment every two or three weeks.

I'd usually see paparazzi nearby, so I could understand why she had a security man on the door.

Lizzie and Ben were always there, and another guy, an American make-up artist, is usually at the house.

Heather is demanding and gives out orders, sometimes clicking her fingers, and she can be abrupt and grand.

She'd say to Lizzie: "Can you get me soup?" or "Can you get me water?"

Once she said: "Can you rearrange my bras in colour co-ordination?"

She has a great range of expensive lingerie. I was quite envious.

Everything has to be precise with her. The staff really are at her beck and call.

Lizzie is Australian and really laid-back and lovely. She just says: "Yeah, OK," and gets on with it.

Everything in Heather's kitchen is organic – there's no rubbish food at all.

She never fed me, but she always gave me a cup of tea made with soya milk.

She urged me never to drink cow's milk, saying: "You might as well be having milk from a dog or cat."

I don't agree with that, but then she is a staunch vegan.

I once treated Heather's sister Fiona at her house, which is also in Hove. She's a lot more tight-lipped than Heather.

She said: "People shouldn't believe all they read in the papers because it's not true. Heather is a good person."

Fiona describes herself as Heather's manager and organises all her personal affairs.

She's at Heather's house quite a lot, or they're talking on the phone.

They're in close contact all the time.

Zoe Ball and Fatboy Slim live a few doors down from Heather, and Heather suggested I put one of my business cards through their door.

Zoe once came to my house for an appointment, and said Heather was all right as a neighbour, although they don't have much to do with each other.

I also treat Nick Cave's partner Susie Bick.

Heather's beach-front house in Hove near Brighton which, according to Kerry, seems much-loved and lived-in

Heather's men

Ben Amigoni is really friendly, and very young – he looks like a kid.

He lives locally but is always at Heather's house, from first thing in the morning, always in sporty gear.

Heather just calls him Ben.

She never talked about him to me. Not a word.

When she chats to him she's quite formal, keeping it on that basis, not giving anything away in front of me.

So maybe there is something going on between them.

During our third appointment, Heather said: "Do you mind if we take a break so I can go with Ben to do some pelvic exercises?"

Her pelvis was smashed in the accident in which she lost her leg, so I said: "Oh, OK, fine."

She said: "I won't be long," and suggested I went downstairs to make myself a cup of tea, which I did.

I could hear loads of laughing going on upstairs.

It didn't really sound like they were doing the normal sort of pelvic exercises! I wouldn't be surprised if they had a little fumble.

My personal opinion is that they are having an intimate relationship and have been at least since I started treating Heather.

He's totally smitten by Heather, in awe of her, and can't believe his luck.

I wouldn't find that attractive in a bloke. He's just at her beck and call.

She's like: "Ben, get the bags!" and he'll lug them up. He's just there to do what she wants.

Ben once drove me from Heather's house to my next appointment and he told me how he'd had a girlfriend but they'd split up because of all the rumours about him and Heather, but he never said if the rumours were true.

I didn't ask because I didn't want them to think I was fishing.

Heather goes to the Funky Buddha club in Brighton, and I asked her if guys there come on to her, and she said: "Yeah, all the time, but in a friendly kind of way – generally people leave me alone and that's why I go there."

But she told me that since she broke up with Paul, famous men friends of theirs had come on to her. She never gave any names.

From the way Heather talks, I get the impression she hates men. She'd say things like: "Just don't ever get married – it's too complicated, the worst thing you could ever do."

Showdown: Sir Paul and Heather outside court this week. She told Kerry that she adored him when they were together and still loves him now

Heather and Paul

I never saw Paul. As far as I know, he was never at Heather's house when I was there.

She told me she was with Paul every single day of their marriage, 24/7, that she'd absolutely adored him, and that she still loves him now.

She said he always made her cover up and wouldn't let her wear low tops or high heels and that he was really insecure.

One appointment was just before Heather's 40th birthday. While I was doing her foot, she was opening all her cards.

After opening one she said: "Oh my God, can you believe it?" and she showed it to me – it was from Paul.

She said: "Even after all this s***, he's still sending me cards signed Love Paul."

The next day I saw that card in the Daily Mirror, so she must have let them have it.

A lot of the time I was shocked by things Heather told me.

Like how Paul was regularly getting drunk. She said it was drink that broke down their marriage and she had to get out for her own sanity.

The drink made him really abusive, she said, and he'd once attacked her with a wine glass and she had photographic evidence to prove it.

She told me Paul had sometimes turned up at this house after they'd split up and would tell her he still loved her despite all that had gone on.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing – even me and my girlfriends don't talk like that – but she was like: "Yeah, honestly!"

Heather never talked to me about other women Paul had been seen out with.

She says she still loves Paul and that's the impression I get. It's just got so far out of hand now.

I noticed that Heather always had a Stella McCartney coat, handbags and other bits scattered around. I can't really work that out, because Heather told me she and Stella dislike each other.

If I was Stella, that would really irritate me.

After a few appointments, I asked Heather if Stella is like what the papers say and she said: "Oh yeah, she's awful.

"From Day One, she was always trying to come between me and Paul.

"She'd always cut my picture out of family photos – there's a real dislike there."

Friction: Stella McCartney with her father and Heather, who told Kerry, 'From Day One, she was always trying to come between me and Paul'

Heather and money

On my last visit earlier this month Heather told me that the divorce case was not about the money but about clearing her name, that she'd always had her own money, that she was a millionairess and had this house before she'd married Paul.

But then she also told me she's struggling financially, living on an overdraft and owing a hell of a lot of money.

Depending on the treatment, I charge £35-£40. A couple of times Heather tipped me about £20, and other times £5.

But I think money is a huge issue for her because she's always harping on about it.

She said she'd never want to be a lawyer for all the money in the world, that they were "the scum of the Earth".

She told me she'd be cross-examining Paul.

She said: "I cannot wait till it's all over. I've had enough of it all and I want an end to it."

Heather left me in her bedroom alone for 15-20 minutes, with a blue folder on a seat nearby. I didn't look at it.

When we continued, she was looking through this blue folder and it contained a lot of her legal documents. It's almost as if she wanted me to read it.

A few weeks ago, a South African woman was helping Heather with her legal work and Heather was asking her to find out the true value of Paul's art collection, which apparently includes Picassos and Renoirs.

Heather said: "Get on to Sotheby's. Get on to Christie's. Find out the value of them but don't let them know the source," clicking her fingers.

After that Heather told me: "Paul gave me some artwork and is trying to say it's worth more than the art he has."

She claimed Paul is soooo tight, and said: "What does he want to do, be buried with the money? What does he want with all that money?"

Introduction: Kerry handed her business card to Heather when she caught sight of her in a Brighton cafe

Her mental state

I'd sum her up by saying she can be charming but, on the other hand, nuts.

Before I met Heather, I got the impression she's a real bitch. But after meeting her, I think she's an all-right person and I like her.

I think she has a hard time. I see her as quite a lonely person.

She's surrounded by people most of the time, but that doesn't mean anything.

I felt that sometimes she made appointments with me partly because she just wanted an ordinary person to talk to, just to have a chat.

She'd always have music playing, often really loud. Not Beatles music, mostly swing stuff such as Harry Connick Jr.

She said music was something that kept her going.

Heather was frequently really stressed and busy.

She's got so much going on, including doing a degree in biology and chemistry. She's constantly on the phone to people.

In our last appointments, we would chat away like girlfriends.

She never shed tears in front of me. I'd say she's a strong woman, yet fragile and vulnerable – two extremes.

Once when I was treating Heather, she was talking about how cruel people can be to her and others with disabilities.

She mentioned how Jordan and Peter Andre did a spoof of her on TV and said: "That bitch with the big tits – she should know better as she's got a handicapped child herself. If I see her I'll kill her!"

She's got an amazing presence. When she walks into a room, you can't miss her aura. She can be a little bit scary.

I wouldn't want to mess with her, that's for sure. When she's goes off on someone, she really means business.

In August, she had designers round to discuss a bathroom for her new house, for which they wanted about £15,000.

While she was being treated by me, she told the designers: "Oh my God, you could buy a small house in Newcastle for that money You're taking the mickey. You're trying to rip me off because of my name. You hear my name and you see pound signs."

She was really abrupt and rude. I was so embarrassed for them.

The impression I get is that the chip on Heather's shoulder has a lot to do with her disability.

She walks with a limp, but is very fit and health-conscious. She says exercise energises her, and she sometimes gets up at 5am to do it.

She's a night owl but gets up at the crack of dawn, so I don't think she sleeps much.

I'd say she's really attractive to look at with an amazing figure.

On the appointment before her 40th birthday, she whipped off her top to put a T-shirt on. I don't think she has any qualms about doing things like that.

But I don't think she's very stylish and she doesn't have a clue when it comes to dress sense.

I can imagine Heather being very manipulative, in the sense that she gets what she wants.

During the period I treated Heather, she went on GMTV and claimed she was being hounded like Princess Diana and Kate McCann and said she was in fear for her life.

I saw highlights of it on the news and thought, "How messed up is that woman? She's really f****d up!"

When I next saw Heather, I told her I'd seen it and she asked what I thought. I said: "I felt really sorry for you."

She told me people had been really sweet to her over it, and that she'd got a huge amount of emails. She didn't express any regret about it.

She's very controlling and wants everything her way.

For our first few appointments, I got the impression she was sussing me out.

When I was doing her nails, she'd sit with her hand stretched right out towards me, sit pouting and looking at me as I was talking.

When her sister Fiona arrived, Heather said: "Oh, isn't Kerry lovely."

I think that was because I was just listening to her, not sucking up to her.

I don't think Heather can believe the position she's in. She's just an ex-porno model who struck lucky.

But good luck to her. I found her very convincing.

The future

On my last visit, she said: "If you ever need anything, give us a call."

But I'd never have asked her for anything. I think she's got enough on her plate at the moment.

I believe she can cope, though. Her personality is too strong for her to go off the rails completely.

I think she'll be all right and she'll find another man, though not in this country.

She said she'd be off abroad when it's all over, probably to the States where she says people are very nice to her.

But I think she'll keep the house in Hove which is much loved and lived-in.

I was meant to see Heather last Saturday but she texted me to cancel saying, "I'll call you when it's all over."

It's been a pleasure to know her and I wish her well. But if I don't see her again it won't be a great loss. She always kept me waiting and never apologised.

A spokeswoman for Heather Mills declined to comment last night.

Kerry Newman was talking to Peter Robertson.