This year, Rebekah Vardy lost a libel suit against Coleen Rooney in a case that made international news. The December broadcast of the Channel 4 film is based on court transcripts.
Channel 4 has released the first photos of a two-part documentary on the Wagatha Christie legal struggle.
Bafta-winning The This Is England actress Chanel Cresswell is shown seated in court as Coleen Rooney in the first image from Vardy v. Rooney: A Courtroom Drama.
Natalia Tena, who portrays Rebekah Vardy and was previously known as Nymphadora Tonks in the Harry Potter series, is seen wearing dark shades and surrounded by reporters.
Based on the court transcripts, Channel 4 stated that its film, which will debut in December, “recreates the high drama, high stakes High Court defamation case.”
It also imagines the “great effect on the lives of the two central women.”
Dion Lloyd portrays the former Manchester United midfielder Wayne Rooney, while Marton Nagyszokolyai portrays the current Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy.
The case dubbed the #WagathaChristie case when it initially emerged on social media in 2019, garnered international headlines.
Vardy, 40, lost a libel case this summer against Rooney, 36, over a social media post after a High Court judge ruled that it was “basically factual.”
In the viral October 2019 article, Rooney claimed to have conducted a months-long “sting operation” and accused Vardy of spreading “false tales” about her private life to the media.
Her investigative activities earned her the nickname “Wagatha Christie,” a reference to the well-known mystery writer Agatha Christie and the moniker for the wives and girlfriends of athletes (Wags).
A judge determined in October that Vardy must pay 90% of Rooney’s legal fees during their libel lawsuit; the amount could exceed £1.5 million.
Disney+ said in August that it will produce a three-part documentary series about the court case with “unique access” to Rooney.
