The first images from Channel 4’s highly anticipated drama Vardy V Rooney: A Courtroom Drama have been released.
The upcoming series recreates the legal battle between Coleen Rooney and Rebekah Vardy that became known as the “Wagatha Christie” trial.
The images feature actresses Chanel Creswell as Coleen and Natalia Tena as Rebekah, who was under cross-examination in court.
Tense: The first pictures of Channel 4’s highly anticipated drama Vardy V Rooney: A Courtroom Drama have been released (Chanel Creswell and Dion Lloyd as Coleen and Wayne Rooney)
Chanel wore a navy blouse and black suit for one scene as she sat next to actor Dion Lloyd, who plays Coleen’s husband Wayne Rooney.
Other images show a replica of Rebekah entering the courtroom in a navy blue long-sleeved dress and large sunglasses.
Chanel is also seen doing investigative work as Coleen, scanning posts on her phone at home.
Joining Chanel and Natalia are Michael Sheen as Coleen’s attorney David Sherborne, Rebekah’s attorney Hugh Tomlinson and Marci Nagyszokolyai as Rebekah’s husband Jamie Vardy.
Drama: One image shows a replica of Rebekah Vardy (Natalia Tena) walking into the courtroom in a navy blue long-sleeved dress and large sunglasses
Wagatha Christie: Chanel wore a navy blouse and black suit for one scene
Vardy v Rooney: A Courtroom Drama, recreated from the real court transcripts, gives viewers a chance to relive the non-televised scenes from the courtroom and all the drama that kept the public and media in suspense for weeks.
The Chalkboard-produced programme, which produced the BBC’s historical murder series Murder, Mystery and My Family, will air later this year.
The former friends first fell out publicly in 2019 when Coleen accused Rebekah of sharing posts from her personal Instagram account with The Sun.
Her rigorous search for the culprit earned her the title Wagatha Christie, in honor of crime writer Agatha Christie.
Couple: Natalia Tena can be seen in a picture glancing at Marci Nagyszokolyai, who plays Rebekah’s husband Jamie Vardy
Rebekah denied the claims and sued for defamation but lost in the High Court in July, where her evidence was found “manifestly contradictory” and “not credible”.
In October she was ordered to pay 90 per cent of Coleen’s legal fees, with the first £800,000 to be paid within six weeks.
The former Dancing on Ice contestant also has her own lawyers’ bills to pay, meaning the huge cost of her failed defamation lawsuit is around £4million.
Rebekah is reportedly facing an estimated court bill of £1.5million following her libel battle in Wagatha Christie High Court.
WAG, whose reputation is in tatters after scoring one of the worst own goals in British legal history, is believed to have to raise £800,000 within weeks.
Legal battle: The former friends first fell out publicly in 2019 when Coleen accused Rebekah of sharing posts from her private Instagram account with The Sun
It comes to the hands of a High Court judge who dismissed her evidence as “evasive or implausible” in one of the most closely watched cases in recent years.
She was accused of intentionally deleting WhatsApp messages central to the case, as it was suspected her agent also intentionally dropped her phone in the North Sea.
Vardy and her footballer husband stood by the bill after Ms Justice Steyn ruled in a ruling in Rooney’s favor that parts of her sworn statements were “manifestly inconsistent”, “not credible” and needed to be treated as “very”. great caution”.
She lost her high-profile defamation lawsuit against Rooney in July when Judge Steyn ruled that Rooney’s viral social media post accusing Vardy of leaking her private information to the press was “essentially true.”
Show: Vardy v Rooney: A Courtroom drama, created from the real court transcripts, gives viewers a chance to relive the non-televised courtroom scenes
It followed a viral social media post in which Rooney revealed that she had posted fake stories on her Instagram page. These false stories then surfaced in The Sun newspaper.
Since she’d changed her settings so only one user could see it, she felt confident in making the famous declaration, “It’s… Rebekah Vardy’s account.”
In an order released Tuesday, the judge ruled that Vardy should pay 90% of Rooney’s costs.
Rooney incurred total costs of more than £2m but £350,000 of that had already been accumulated ahead of the May trial so this was removed to give a final figure of £1,667,860.
Vardy has been ordered to pay £800,000 of the cost bill by 4pm on November 15.
Trial: Coleen’s rigorous investigation to find the culprit earned her the title Wagatha Christie, in reference to mystery writer Agatha Christie