The decision in the Wagatha Christie libel trial came to a conclusion back in May 2022, and it was confirmed that Rebekah Vardy has lost her libel case against Coleen Rooney. Coleen, Wayne Rooney's wife, accused Rebekah - who is married to Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy - of leaking stories from her private Instagram account to journalists at The Sun, and the story is now being told in the new documentary, Coleen Rooney: The Real Wagatha Story.
The sensational libel trial between Coleen, 36, and Rebekah, 40, gripped the nation when it took place in 2022. Mrs Justice Steyn was the judge in the three-year-long libel case, and has finally handed down her verdict in a remote hearing. In her ruling, Mrs Justice Steyn said it was "likely" Rebekah's agent at the time, Caroline Watt, may have played a part in passing the information to The Sun. She said: "Nonetheless, the evidence… clearly shows, in my view, that Mrs Vardy knew of and condoned this behaviour, actively engaging in it by directing Ms Watt to the private Instagram account, sending her screenshots of Mrs Rooney’s posts, drawing attention to items of potential interest to the press, and answering additional queries raised by the press via Ms Watt.
© Photo: Getty ImagesThe judge added: "In my judgment, the conclusions that I have reached as to the extent to which the claimant engaged in disclosing to The Sun information to which she only had access as a permitted follower of an Instagram account which she knew, and Mrs Rooney repeatedly asserted, was private, suffice to show the single meaning is substantially true." Despite the outcome, the legal costs for each side is an upwards of £1m. In October 2019, mum-of-four Coleen accused Rebekah of leaking "false stories" about her private life to The Sun after a months-long sting operation.
Coleen was then dubbed 'Wagatha Christie' after her social media post - which included the words, "… It's Rebekah Vardy's account" - went viral in 2019. Rebekah denied the accusation and subsequently sued Coleen for libel.
© Photo: Getty ImagesColeen's hotshot lawyer was David Sherborne; his previous client list includes Sir Paul McCartney, Sienna Miller, Meghan Markle, Michael Douglas and former prime minister Tony Blair and his wife Cherie. Meanwhile, Rebekah enlisted Hugh Tomlinson who has previously worked with Prince Charles, Rio Ferdinand and Ryan Giggs. Fans engrossed by the Wagatha Christie trial might be pleased to hear that Coleen has signed a deal to make a documentary about the libel case, in order to tell her side of the story. Netflix is yet to confirm the news, but the MailOnline reports that the Rooneys have signed a deal with the streaming giant.
