ITV is to air Coleen Rooney: The Real Wagatha Story, a documentary about her libel case with Rebekah Vardy, ahead of the 38-year-old’s first appearance on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! this weekend.
The programme will look at the 2022 case with exclusive access to the media personality, who is the wife of former Manchester United footballer and current Plymouth Argyle manager Wayne Rooney.
It will also feature interviews with her family as well as the legal team involved in the trial with Vardy, the wife of Leicester City forward Jamie Vardy, which was dubbed Wagatha Christie.
The trial came after Rooney accused Vardy of leaking her private information to the press on social media.
Vardy sued her for libel, but Mrs Justice Steyn found in July 2022 that the allegation was “substantially true”, and later ordered Vardy to pay 90% of Rooney’s costs, including an initial payment of £800,000.
The new show will reveal how Rooney became an “amateur online sleuth” to find an explanation for why private stories concerning herself and her family continued to appear in the media.
It will look at the circumstances leading up to the Instagram post which saw her make the accusation at Vardy, and how she successfully defended herself in the High Court.
The show will be available to stream on ITVX from Thursday, and will air on ITV2 next month.
Rooney will enter the jungle on Sunday, when I’m A Celebrity returns at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX, alongside the likes of N-Dubz singer Tulisa Contostavlos, former Strictly Come Dancing professional Oti Mabuse, and former boxing champion Barry McGuigan.
Speaking ahead of flying to Australia for the show, she said: “It has been year after year I have been asked to go on a programme and it’s always been a straight no.
“Over the years, there have been different things going on in my life, and also, my children have been really young. But they are at an age now where I can go away for this length of time.
“I also feel it’s time to have a challenge for me, and do something different. It has taken many, many years but I’m finally doing it.
“I have always said if I was going to do one, then it would be this show. I think it will be good for me.”
