If you haven’t been glued to the Wagatha Christie scandal, which happened in 2019 and is again making headlines as a libel trial is taking place in London, you may be wondering who the main players are.
The libel trial began last Tuesday in the London High Court, where Rebekah Vardy has accused Coleen Rooney of ruining her good name.
In 2019, the wife of footballer Wayne Rooney accused Ms Vardy on social media of selling stories about her to the press.
In a dramatic post, Ms Rooney explained she was suspicious Ms Vardy was leaking stories that were on her private Instagram story (one that only her friends can see).
To find out if she was right, Ms Rooney had blocked everyone apart from Ms Vardy from viewing her private story and posted fake information about her life. She claims that when these stories ended up in newspapers, she knew who it was that leaked them.
Rebekah Vardy
Rebekah Vardy (40) is an English model who is married to professional footballer Jamie Vardy (35) who is currently a striker for Leicester City.
The Indo Daily: Playing Detective – Wagatha Christie and the long-running Rooney Vardy feud
She has appeared in a number of reality TV shows, including I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here and Dancing with the Stars, and has written a children’s book with her husband.
She has previously been married twice, to Mark Godden (2001 to 2003) and Steve Clarke (2005 to 2006).
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In 2014, she met Jamie Vardy while working as a nightclub promoter and went on to marry him two years later.
Ms Vardy has five children: Megan (17) and Taylor (11) from previous relationships, and Sofia (7), Finley (5) and Olivia Grace (2) from her current marriage
She was pregnant with Olivia Grace when Ms Rooney accused her of selling stories to the press, and she said she feared losing her baby over the stress that the controversy was causing her.
Coleen Rooney
Coleen Rooney (36) is the wife of the former Manchester United and England star Wayne Rooney (36).
The couple are childhood sweethearts. They met aged 12 in Croxteth, Liverpool, and began a relationship when they were 16.
They tied the knot in Italy in 2008 and have four sons together, Kai (12), Klay (8), Kit (6) and Cass (4).
Coleen and Wayne Rooney arrive at the Royal Courts Of Justice, London. Photo: James Manning/PA Wire
Ms Rooney has released a number of exercise DVDs, has written an autobiography called Welcome to My World, and released a fashion book called Coleen’s Real Style.
She didn’t stop there as from 2008 to 2010 she published a four-book series called Coleen Style Queen.
Ms Rooney and Ms Vardy met through their footballer husbands, and while it is somewhat unknown how close their friendship was, in her 2019 post outing the model, Ms Rooney described her as someone she “trusted”.
Ms Vardy wrote on Twitter that she was “so upset” by the allegations, and that she liked Rooney “a lot” prior to the falling out.
Jamie Vardy
The husband of Rebekah Vardy, Jamie Vardy is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for Leicester City.
He has three children with his wife – Sofia, Finley, and Olivia Grace – and a daughter Ella Vardy (11) with his ex-spouse Emma Daggett.
Wayne Rooney
Wayne Rooney is set to give evidence as part of his wife’s trial in the London High Court case, along with her cousin and brother.
The well-known English footballer has retired from playing, but he is now the Derby County manager.
He made his professional debut with his local club Everton at age 16, and he became the youngest goal scorer in Premier League history in his first season.
He transferred to Manchester United in 2004, where he came to be regarded as one of the best and most valuable players in world football.
David Sherbrone (Coleen Rooney’s lawyer)
With a reputation as a barrister the rich and famous turn to for legal assistance, Mr Sherborne's previous client list includes Diana, Princess of Wales, Hollywood actor Michael Douglas and former prime minister Tony Blair and his wife Cherie.
Among the other high-profile figures he has represented are Donald and Melania Trump, Sheikh Abdulla Al-Khalifa, Paul McCartney, Sienna Miller, Kate Moss and Harry Styles.
Ms Rooney’s barrister is no stranger to high-profile libel trials at the Royal Courts of Justice, notably representing Johnny Depp in the actor’s 2020 libel claim against the publisher of The Sun, News Group Newspapers (NGN).
For a short time, Mr Sherborne also represented Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, in her legal fight against the Mail on Sunday.
Leicester City football player, and husband of Rebekah Vardy, Jamie Vardy. Photo: Andrew Matthews/PA Wire
The barrister, called to the bar in 1992, has also represented dozens of claimants, including celebrities, suing NGN over phone hacking at the News Of The World, including the McCanns, the Dowler family, JK Rowling and Hugh Grant.
He successfully worked on famous cases including representing Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta-Jones and OK! magazine in their suit against Hello! magazine for publishing unauthorised pictures of their wedding.
Mr Sherborne also succeeded in getting Amy Winehouse, Cheryl Cole, Lily Allen, Harry Styles and Sienna Miller injunctions against the paparazzi.
Working out of media and entertainment chambers 5RB, Sherborne specialises in “privacy, confidentiality and defamation” in the media.
Hugh Tomlinson (Rebekah Vardy’s lawyer)
Mr Tomlinson, born in Leeds in 1954, is an experienced media barrister, first called to the bar in 1983.
His previous clients include the Prince of Wales in his legal battle against the Mail on Sunday over his diaries, easyJet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou, former footballer Rio Ferdinand and the Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich.
The Oxford-educated Tomlinson, who co-founded the London-based Matrix Chambers, became a QC in 2002 and is a board member of campaign group Hacked Off.
He is perhaps best known for his work on high-profile super injunctions and represented Ryan Giggs in his High Court case against The Sun after it published details of his relationship with the celebrity Imogen Thomas.
In a 2011 interview, Mr Tomlinson told The Guardian: “If things are private they shouldn’t become public unless there’s public interest in doing so.
“The main point of contention is that the press say that if someone is having an adulterous affair, that’s something that should be exposed. The judges don’t agree.
“They draw the line that [publication is only allowed] where there’s misconduct the law recognises, for example, criminal and regulatory misconduct or hypocritical misleading of the public.”
In the same interview, he said: “In the end someone has to decide on the public interest. It can’t be editors who have an obvious axe to grind.
“It can’t be parliamentarians because they don’t have the evidence on the particular facts of [each] case. Judges form the only available institution to make the decisions.”
Mr Tomlinson was also at the centre of MPs’ expenses scandal when he represented freedom of information campaigners, arguing that the House of Commons would have broken the law if it released a redacted version of expenses claims.
Peter Andre
Singer Peter Andre (49) was brought into the Wagatha Christie scandal as Ms Rooney’s legal team quoted excerpts from an interview Ms Vardy did with the News of the World in 2004.
It came after she was asked in a cross-examination if she respected peoples privacy.
Making comments about an alleged one-night stand she had with the singer, Ms Vardy said: “Peter’s hung like a small chipolata … the smallest trouser equipment I’ve ever seen.”
In the courtroom, Ms Vardy said she “deeply regrets” the comments.
Peter Andre, who was the subject of insulting comments by Rebekah Vardy in a historic newspaper article. Photo: Ian West/PA Wire
The Mysterious Girl singer took to Instagram on Tuesday to hit back at the 2004 comments.
"Do you know how hard it is to keep biting my lip on situations?” he said.
“But the way I look at it, most people saw in the jungle how an acorn turned into an oak so I think I'm ok.
“At least she has now admitted it wasn't true and was forced to say it.”
Caroline Watt
Caroline Watt is Rebekah Vardy’s friend and agent.
In February, Ms Rooney attempted to have Ms Watt added to the legal action for allegedly leaking her private information, as she was accused of doing her client’s “dirty work”.
However, she was not added to the case “on the basis that the application had been made too late and would delay the main libel trial by up to a year, which would be unfair on Vardy.”
For this reason, she will not be called on to give oral evidence during the trial.
It was also added that Ms Watt is in a “fragile state” and seemed “not fit” to provide evidence.
