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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Entertainment
Gemma Jones

Channel 4 announces casting for Coleen Rooney's Wagatha Christie film

Channel 4 have announced the casting for their Wagatha Christie film.

The two-part film will recreate the high drama, high stakes High Court defamation case which had a huge impact on the lives of the two women at its heart and catapulted the two sparring legal teams into the spotlight. WAGs Rebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney publicly fought it out after Coleen accused her former friend of leaking stories about her to the press.

As a result Rebekah dragged her to court in an attempt to sue her for libel, putting them both and their families in the spotlight. Rebekah, 40, lost the libel battle after a High Court judge found the claims were "substantially true".

READ MORE: Coleen Rooney praised for 'dignified' attitude as Rebekah Vardy ordered to pay £800k

Now, BAFTA-winning actress and This Is England star Chanel Cresswell is set to take on the role of Coleen Rooney with Game Of Thrones star Natalia Tena playing opposite her as fellow WAG, Rebekah Vardy, reported The Mirror.

Michael Sheen, known for his portrayals of real-life figures such as Sir Tony Blair and broadcaster David Frost, will appear as Rooney's barrister David Sherborne. Mr Sherborne's previous clients include Diana, Princess of Wales, Hollywood actor Michael Douglas and model Kate Moss.

He also represented Johnny Depp in the actor's 2020 libel claim against the publisher of the S*n, News Group Newspapers (NGN). Rebekah's barrister, Hugh Tomlinson, will be portrayed by Simon Coury, best known for appearing in The Professor And The Madman.

His previous clients include the King, easyJet founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou and oligarch Roman Abramovich. Wayne Rooney will be played by Dion Lloyd and Jamie Vardy will be played by Marci Nagyszokolyai.

The programme will be created from the real court transcripts, and Channel 4 say Vardy v Rooney: A Courtroom Drama will "bring viewers all of the incredible and unbelievable moments from a case" that kept the public and media gripped.

In the viral post that outed Rebekah, Coleen said she had carried out a months-long "sting operation" and accused Rebekah of leaking "false stories" about her private life to the press. Her sleuthing efforts saw her dubbed Wagatha Christie in reference to the popular mystery writer.

In August, Disney+ confirmed it is creating a three-part documentary series about the court battle with "exclusive access" to Coleen Rooney. It had been rumoured that many broadcasters and streaming services were bidding to secure the rights to create a project about the high-profile court case.

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