Paul McCartney and Heather Mills are reportedly close to finalising the financial aspect of their divorce but tensions are running high between the pair.

According to the News of the World, the couple have had frequently telephone arguments about their ongoing divorce over the last few weeks with Heather declaring that Paul will “never get rid of” her and Paul countering by saying her decision to take part in US celebrity talent show Dancing with the Stars is “tacky” and she’ll become a “reality TV freak like Anna Nicole Smith“.

Both Heather and Paul seem reluctant to keep the divorce battle out of the public courts but sources are suggesting different reasons for this.

A source close to Paul told the newspaper that Heather is worried about the public backlash against her the longer the case drags on: “It seems Heather has been stung by the outrage over her cash demands. She thought she was entitled to that much but realises the longer this battle goes on the worse she’ll come out of it.”

“She’s ready now to make a compromise. There’s been a great deal of horse-trading between the lawyers.

“Paul will be delighted. All he ever wanted was for this to be settled so he can get on with his life.”

“Being realistic it could still take weeks to finally thrash out a deal but they’re on the right path and now they’re talking the same language. And if negotiations keep going this well it could be even sooner.”

The source mentioned a deal of around £29million in cash in addition to one of the properties they shared, most likely their house in St John’s Wood, London.

However, a source close to Heather believes Paul’s driving the new settlement plans because he’s afraid of defending the previously leaked abuse claims in court.

The source claiming to be a friend of Heather’s said this week: “He won’t let it go to court, that’s for sure. Heather has independent witnesses to support her claims, medical evidence and tapes in which he states his intentions very clearly. Why would Paul want that discussed in court and have to live with that stigma for the rest of his life?”

“Maybe it’s getting closer to a settlement but what’s clear is there’s a very nasty and evil campaign going on here. What McCartney has done is categorically deny the wife-beating, saying it’s disgraceful and disgusting, then settle so she won’t have a chance to show the evidence to back up what she said.”

“I know that Paul’s worn her down and she got completely fed up with the whole thing. But he’ll never keep her quiet.”

Earlier settlement rumours had included money for an agreement to stay silent about their marriage but according to the source, Heather has told her friends: “I will NOT sign a gagging clause because I want people to know the truth.”

The source added that despite Paul’s criticism of her participation, Heather will not be swayed from her decision to participate in Dancing with the Stars: “In the past Heather’s been distraught about the backlash she’s received over the divorce case. She’s been phoning me in tears. But she has really enjoyed doing the show and now sounds very upbeat.”