Sir Paul McCartney's ex-wife Heather Mills brands 70 Up star Tony Walker a 'hero' as she reveals the 'courageous cabbie' came to her rescue when she lost her leg in 1993 accident

Heather Mills has revealed that Tony Walker, a star of the ITV documentary series 70 Up is the 'courageous cabbie' who came to her rescue during her horrifying 1993 accident.

In 1993 Heather, who went on to have a four-year marriage to Sir Paul McCartney, was walking through Kensington when she was knocked down by a police motorcycle responding to an emergency call.

She suffered crushed ribs, a punctured lung and serious injuries to her left leg, meaning it had to be amputated six inches below the knee.

Heather, 58, has now revealed her incredible connection with Tony, telling fans she was 'excited' to watch him on the final instalment of the decades-running documentary series, which has followed Tony and others since they were seven-years-old.  

Posting on Instagram this week as the first of the 70 Up two-part finale aired, Heather shared a video of herself and Tony from a chance reunion last year.

'Excited to see my friend Tony on TV tomorrow night make sure you don’t miss it,' she encouraged her followers, before revealing: 'We bumped into each other in London last year for the first time since my accident, and he was kind enough to talk me through the full story from his perspective.'

'I can’t believe the same courageous cabbie picked up my leg and put it in an ice bucket. He is one of my heroes.' 

She shared a video of the two in a pub in London as she revealed 'we are in the actual pub where the barrel came from that they stuck my leg in... I am just here to say thanks to Tony.'

Last year Heather shared an Instagram video of Tony telling her his side of the story as they drove to the site of her accident. 

Tony recalled how he hadn't seen Heather since 1993 but had spotted her one day in London last year and introduced himself. 

'It was like fate, you were there and I was there. You didn't recognise me because I never introduced myself,' he told her in the video. 'I said "you don't remember me do you?"'

'As soon as I said that, your whole demeanor changed and you realised who I was to you. I said "please can I kiss you?" I came up and I kissed you on your cheek and gave you a cuddle of reassurance because I haven't seen you since the day of your accident.' 

'I was walking down the street and this guy yells "Heather Mills" out the taxi and jumped out,' Heather remembered.

'He then burst into tears and said "oh my god. I've watched your story and I can't believe you survived."'  

In Tuesday night's episode of 70 Up viewers saw Tony reflect on his childhood  ambitions to be a jockey and the heartbreaking moment he was told his career was over. 

Fighting back tears Tony said: 'My governor said, ‘I’ve got faith in you Tony, but you’re going to find it hard’. I asked him why, and he said, "your weight".

'I said, I’m 8st2 governor, and he said, "I know but you’re getting lumpy now, you’re getting bigger"'. I thought about my weight, I thought about the ambition, the longevity, and I thought, that’s me blown. I went out again, it broke my heart.'

Tony went on to become a London taxi driver as well as an extra on TV. 

The final episode of 70 Up will air on September 22 on ITV.