The race is on to bring the already notorious ‘Wagatha Christie’ defamation trial to our screens, following this week’s conclusion at London’s High Court.
The battle between footballers’ wives Coleen Rooney and Rebekah Vardy (married to Wayne Rooney and Jamie Vardy respectively) concluded after two and a half long years, with the judge ruling in favour of Rooney. Vardy had originally brought the case to court, claiming defamation after Rooney unveiled her as the culprit behind a roll-call of stories about her and her family leaked to the press. Rooney had laid a trap for Vardy restricting her Instagram account so that she knew who could see her posts, leading to the day she announced on social media the results of her investigation, saying, “It’s….. Rebekah Vardy.” Thus was #WagathaChristie born.
When Vardy’s case for libel finally arrived in the British courtroom, weeks of witness statements and cross-examination unveiled the rivalry between the two women, both high-profile figures in the UK.
Now, the battle is on between various production companies to bring the definitive version of events to screen.
The Observer newspaper today confirmed that Poldark screenwriter Debbie Horsfield will pen a drama for Blueprint Productions, the company behind historical but equally high-profile scandalous tales A Very English Scandal starring Hugh Grant as Jeremy Thorpe MP, and A Very British Scandal starring Clare Foy and Paul Bettany as the Duke and Duchess of Argyll.
In parallel with this project is Coleen Rooney’s reported documentary chronicling her side of events. Rooney previously participated in Rooney, a behind-the-scenes look by Lorton Entertainment at her family life with husband Wayne which streamed on AmazonPrime.
There are also reports that Netflix plans a documentary by Dorothy St Pictures, who filmed Rooney during the court case. And Chalkboard has been commissioned by Channel 4 to film a reconstruction of events using courtroom transcripts with actors taking the roles of the protagonists.
This case may have concluded in the eyes of the British legal system, but clearly not in the public imagination.