Wagatha Christie libel case: what is it and why should we care?

The “Wagatha Christie” trial kicks off today in the High Court, with Rebekah Vardy suing Coleen Rooney for libel. Rooney has accused Vardy of leaking her private Instagram posts to the press after using a cunning ruse to reveal Vardy as the prime suspect. Vardy has denied it.

Many readers won’t have the slightest idea what it’s all about. But with the libel case set to dominate headlines for the next week, here’s what you need to know.

What happened?

The story begins in 2017, when Coleen Rooney, wife of England footballing legend, Wayne Rooney, began to notice that her private Instagram stories (updates that can only be seen by a select group of Rooney’s choosing) were being leaked to the Sun. One story that appeared in the newspaper mentioned an image of Wayne and their three sons “wearing matching pyjamas,” something she had earlier posted in private on Instagram.

As her private life continued to make it into the news, Rooney began to suspect foul play, and decided to take action – the game was afoot.

How did Rooney collect her evidence, and who was the suspect?

Rooney began to post false updates on her private story, seeking out the traitor amongst her friends.

In a series of fake posts, Rooney claimed that she was in talks with Strictly Come Dancing, that she had gone to Mexico for gender selection, and even that her basement had flooded. All appeared in the Sun.

Announcing her sting operation on Twitter in October 2019, Rooney wrote, “I blocked everyone from viewing my Instagram stories except ONE account.” It was this that led her to a suspect.

She then delivered the coup de grace: “It’s ………. Rebekah Vardy’s account.”

“Mon Dieu!” she undoubtedly exclaimed, channelling her inner-Poirot, when she made her shocking discovery.

The prime suspect is the wife of another Premier League star, Jamie Vardy, who catapulted Leicester City to a Premier League win in 2016.

What is the court case about?

Since the revelation in 2019, Vardy has vehemently denied being involved in the leaks, and has claimed on social media that she isn’t the only one with access to her Instagram account.

With no apology forthcoming from Rooney, Vardy filed for a libel case against her former friend in June 2020.

The libel case first went to court in November 2020, in a preliminary hearing, Mr Justice Warby stated that the purpose of Rooney’s post was to “Identify [Vardy] publicly”, and that, “there is ‘no hint’ in the post that Ms Vardy’s account could be accessed or operated by anyone other than the named account holder.” This means that Rooney will have to prove in court that Vardy was personally involved in the leaks, and that her statement on Twitter was “substantially true”.

Text messages between Vardy and her agent, Caroline Watt, have also been revealed. In one, Vardy describes Rooney as “a nasty bitch”. Watt’s phone, however, has since been lost, after she dropped it in the North Sea whilst on a boat trip; even so, she claims it would not have been of much use, as she frequently deletes her messages.

Vardy’s WhatsApp messages were also lost whilst being exported to her lawyer.

Why do we care?

Since the case involves two famous names – not to mention their famous husbands – it’s not surprising that the “Wagatha Christie” case is gaining a lot of attention. Part of what makes it newsworthy is the hefty legal bill both sides are amassing – expected to be more than £1m a piece.

It’s not hard to think of more important stories at the moment, which begs the question: does any of this actually matter? Maybe not. But the who dunnit story might just be the best British detective yarn since “Murder on the Orient Express”.