All the different Wagatha Christie TV shows

Coleen Rooney is reportedly joining I'm a Celebrity 2024

Coleen Rooney and Rebekah Vardy entering the High Court during the Wagatha Christie trial
Coleen Rooney and Rebekah Vardy entering the High Court during the trial. (PA via Getty)

ITV is to air a documentary about Coleen Rooney's libel case with Rebekah Vardy, ahead of the 38-year-old's first appearance on I'm A Celebrity this weekend.

Rooney, the wife of ex-England captain Wayne Rooney, was embroiled in the 'Wagatha Christie' legal battle in 2022 after accusing fellow WAG Vardy of leaking stories about her to The Sun newspaper.

The programme, titled Coleen Rooney: The Real Wagatha Story, originally aired on Disney+ last year, and will have exclusive access to the media personality. It will also feature interviews with her family as well as the legal team involved in the trial with Vardy.

The Wagatha row has inspired a string of TV shows and even a stage play about the scandal. So do we already know?

Coleen Rooney: The Real Wagatha Story | ITV/Disney+

Coleen Rooney as herself in Coleen Rooney: The Real Wagatha Story
Coleen Rooney told her story in Coleen Rooney: The Real Wagatha Story. (Disney+)

Coleen Rooney: The Real Wagatha Story explains how Rooney set out to play amateur detective when she believed one of the followers on her private social media account was selling stories about her to the tabloids, all the way to her successful defence in the high court after Vardy sued her for defamation.

The Disney+ series also looks at the past 20 years of Rooney's life and how she went from the childhood sweetheart of Manchester United player Wayne Rooney to obtaining celebrity status in her own right.

The show is titled The Real Wagatha Story, after it was revealed Vardy had trademarked the phrase Wagatha Christie, and could command a fee from anyone who uses the term.

Rebekah Vardy interview | Talk TV

After Vardy lost her high court battle against Rooney in August 2022 she was ordered to pay 90 per cent of Rooney's legal costs. Straight after the trial Vardy spoke publicly for the first time in a tell-all interview with Talk TV. She said she felt coverage of the trial had been sexist.

Vardy said: "The whole thing was presented in such a misogynistic way. It just seems like women aren't allowed to defend themselves. Women aren't allowed to dress nicely. Yes, there's a lot of sexism involved in it."

Rebekah Vardy leaves the Royal Courts of Justice during the Wagatha Christie trial
Vardy told her side of the story in a Discovery+ documentary in 2022. (Future Publishing via Getty)

Discovery+ released a two-part documentary about the trial in November 2022. Each of the two episodes purported to tell the separate cases of Vardy and Rooney. But while Vardy gave an interview to the documentary makers, Rooney did not give her side of the story.

Vardy claimed in her interview that she had been framed. She said: "I wonder, how easy would it be to potentially set someone up in a way that makes it look like that is the only person that has seen those [leaked Instagram] posts?"

Martin Sheen in Vardy v Rooney: A Courtroom Drama
Martin Sheen starred in a Channel 4 dramatisation of the court transcripts. (Channel 4)

In December 2022, Channel 4 aired a dramatisation of the trial starring Natalia Tena as Vardy, Chanel Cresswell as Rooney and Michael Sheen as a barrister in the case.

The script for the docu-drama came from court-transcripts of the trial, so revealed no new details to the many fans and voyeurs who had avidly followed the court hearings with interest at the time. However, as cameras are not permitted in British court rooms, it was the first time viewers had seen the words spoken "in character", having previously had to rely on media coverage and court illustrations.

Some audiences branded the show "cheesy" but many still confessed it was gripping viewing.

Sharan Phull, Jonathan Broadbent, Laura Dos Santos, Charlotte Randle, Lucy May Barker, Tom Turner and Nathan McMullen onstage during Vardy V Rooney: The Wagatha Christie Trial
Vardy v Rooney: The Wagatha Christie Trial opened in the West End and toured the UK. (Getty)

A stage version of a "verbatim production" using the court transcripts opened in London's West End in November 2022. It was such a hit that its original run until January was extended in April and May 2023 and it want on to tour the UK.

Lucy May Barker, best known for her work in West End musicals like Mamma Mia! and The Woman In Black film, played Vardy. Laura Dos Santos, who has had TV roles in Doctor Who, Wallander and The Bill, portrayed Rooney.

Misfits star Nathan McMullen played multiple roles including Wayne Rooney and Jamie Vardy.

I'm a Celebrity 2024 starts on ITV on 17 November