How the Johnny Depp v Amber Heard trial came down to performances

It was the defamation case that became box office. Reporter Nick Wallis had a front-row seat as it unfolded and in this exclusive extract from his new book, 
he tells how Depp won over jurors and the online battle for hearts and minds

Amber Heard as she testifies in the defmation case brought by Johnny Depp in Virginia. Photo by Steve Helber via Getty Images — © POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Nick Wallis

The Johnny Depp who arrived at court in Fairfax, Virginia, in April last year seemed markedly older and heavier than the figure who cut a dash bounding up the main steps of the High Court in London in 2020. When I suggested this to a group of supporters outside court, one remarked that quite a few of us had got a little bigger during the last two years of on-off lockdowns. It was a fair point.