When the term Wag (standing for the Wives And Girlfriends of England’s top footballers) first appeared in British newspapers, it beckoned in a new era of scurrilous journalism. These women – who were unfairly blamed for England’s miserable exit from the World Cup in 2006 – became a perpetual motion machine for tabloid column inches. But when The Book of the Wag is finally written, the story that began with Victoria Beckham and Cheryl Cole will climax with the wives of two former England strikers going head-to-head in the High Court. This is the story of Vardy v Rooney: A Courtroom Drama, Channel 4’s verbatim retelling of the infamous “Wagatha Christie” saga.
But that name was always a misnomer. This story was never a whodunnit. Instead, it was a she said, she said popularity contest played out on a public stage. In the red corner: Coleen Rooney (Trollied’s Chanel Cresswell), wife of ex-England captain Wayne, and victim of leaks about her personal life. In the blue corner: Rebekah Vardy (Game of Thrones’s Natalia Tena), the other half of Leicester City striker Jamie, accused of the grand crime of selling details of Rooney’s home life to The Sun. The stakes here are so low, they’re visible only at eye-level with the carpet.
