Wagatha Christie: Coleen Rooney reveals moment she ‘rumbled’ Rebekah Vardy

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Coleen Rooney today revealed the moment she allegedly rumbled Rebekah Vardy with a ‘fake’ social media post about a flooded basement as the £3million ‘Wagatha Christie‘ trial continued.

She also told the High Court today during the women’s dramatic libel battle that she did not contact Rebekah after making her discovery because she ‘did not believe a word that was coming out of her mouth’.

Coleen revealed how a story she believed was based on the third and final ‘fake post’ about a flooded basement in her new Cheshire mansion was the trigger for her bombshell Wagatha post the following day. 

Explaining why she made her notorious ‘It’s… Rebekah Vardy’s Account’ post instead of contacting Rebekah, Coleen told the court: ‘I thought maybe if I did approach her she might twist it and cover it up somehow and might not be truthful so I didn’t give her the opportunity.’

Coleen also revealed how she ramped up her probe when her husband Wayne was ‘misbehaving’ with a barmaid during a ten-hour bender with teammates in Florida. And Coleen admitted keeping her probe secret from the former England captain – as well as lying to Rebekah after being asked why she had unfollowed her on Instagram.

The trial comes after a widely-shared social media post in October 2019, in which Coleen said she had carried out a ‘sting operation’ and accused 40-year-old Rebekah of leaking ‘false stories’ about her private life to the press.

Rebekah, who is married to Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy, denies leaking stories to the media and is suing her fellow footballer’s wife for libel, while Coleen is defending the claim on the basis her post was ‘substantially true’.

Asked today about Rebekah’s response to the post, Coleen said: ‘She said she had zero interest in what was going on in my life which I didn’t think was true because she talks about me a lot. So that was a lie.’

Talking about Rebekah’s frequent exchanges with her agent Caroline Watt about her private life which she has since discovered, Coleen said today: ‘She’s got no need to talk about me. I just felt that the messages that went on between them are evil and uncalled for. They’re totally the opposite of the truth. I’m not a bad person. It’s totally untrue. I didn’t think there was any need for it. It’s nothing to do with them.’

She added of Rebekah: ‘I didn’t trust her – I didn’t believe her. I did not believe a word that was coming out of her mouth.’ She said she wasn’t trying to portray Rebekah as ‘a valiant’ and thought much of the response to her post was ‘ridiculous’. Coleen said she ‘hated every minute’ of the furore which erupted.

She accepted she had images on her phone which made light of the matter including references to the Scooby Doo gang ‘unmasking a villain’ and comparisons with Agatha Christie. But she insisted she was not ‘delighted’ with the reaction to the post. Coleen said: ‘No I wasn’t. I have never craved press attention. I have had it and I have accepted it. I have never drawn attention to myself.’

Coleen also told how she kept tabs on whether stories had been published about her during her investigation by making online checks. She said: ‘Sometimes I do Google News and click my name in and articles come up.’

London’s High Court heard the sting gathered momentum at a time when Rooney was ‘misbehaving.’ Asked if that was the case by Rebekah’s barrister Hugh Tomlinson QC, Coleen replied: ‘There’s been a few unfortunate things that have happened and they have been publicised. It’s happened quite a few times and I’ve dealt with it. We’ve dealt with it as a couple, as a family. There are a few things that have been publicised over a few years.’

Speaking of Rebekah’s response to her ‘troubles’, Coleen said: ‘I did feel that when there’s tough times going on, I felt Mrs Vardy would message more. I felt It’s when there are things in the news, she would message me and say How are you?’. I felt like it was fishing for information.’

The court heard one occasion when Rebekah went ‘fishing for information’ happened hours after her husband allegedly ‘spent time’ with the barmaid in Florida. Coleen told how Rebekah got in contact after The Sun told how she was threatening to quit the US and return to Britain after Rooney’s encounter with Vicki Rosiek when he was playing for DC United in Washington.

Making contact with Coleen at lunchtime on February 11 2019, the day after the article appeared, Rebekah wrote: ‘Hi my love! Hope you are ok! Just saw another s***ty story online! Can they not just leave you guys alone…I don’t know how you do it! It’s relentless…stay strong. Sending hugs.

Coleen replied: ‘Thanks, just a pain in a**e…it’s the kids half term so just gonna come home.’ Messaging Coleen back, Rebekah wrote: ‘It’s a joke! Annoys me someone close to you is clearly selling you out! And for what…I don’t blame you come home and be with your family’.

Over a two-month period, Coleen posted up to 50 stories on her account, up to five or six a day, that were only visible to Rebekah’s account, the court heard. Mr Tomlinson said: ‘This was really a serious and concerted operation wasn’t it Mrs Rooney.’ Coleen replied, saying: ‘It was important but I felt like it’s been made out in the public a lot more important than it actually is.’

Asked by Mr Tomlinson why she had not told Rooney about her investigation, Coleen replied: ‘One thing I don’t do is put any troubles or worries on anyone else. I don’t like to put pressure on anyone until I need to. 

‘That’s what I’ve always done. I wanted to do it for myself without telling anyone. There’s trust and there’s trust. It was quite hard keeping it to myself but I had to do it if I wanted to find out who was doing it to me.’

Also today, Coleen admitted lying to Rebekah after being asked why she had unfollowed her on Instagram. During cross-examination about her actions, 36-year-old Coleen also told Mr Tomlinson at the trial today: ‘Yes I did lie, it was a cover-up for what I was investigating, I had my suspicions.’

It follows some of the most memorable parts of the trial last week, including:

Rebekah speaking of her regret over a kiss-and-tell interview in which she revealed intimate details of a sexual encounter with singer Peter Andre, which resulted in an article headlined: ‘Peter’s hung like a small chipolata’;Claims over a celebrity spat breaking out after Rebekah was allegedly caught taking pictures of the contents of the late Girls Aloud singer Sarah Harding’s handbag at the National Television Awards in 2018;Rebekah admitting she didn’t know who Davy Jones was when the court was reminded that her agent Caroline Watt had said in an earlier hearing that her phone had fallen into the North Sea;

The court was told this morning that Coleen unfollowed Rebekah in early 2019 and received a message a month later asking her if Rebekah had ‘done something to offend you.’ 

The court heard that on March 3 that year, Rebekah sent Coleen a note saying: ‘I saw you had unfollowed me and I wasn’t following you anymore on Instagram…just wanted to ask if I had done something or offended you in anyway? Literally only noticed the other day’.

Coleen admitted she ‘told her a fib’ in her reply, saying she ‘didn’t even know’ – adding that her children used her phone often and she would check to see what happened. In fact, the court was told that she had deliberately unfollowed her because of concerns that stories were being leaked from her account.

The message only increased Coleen’s suspicions, she said. ‘If it was me, I would have just forgotten about it,’ she added. 

Coleen said if it had happened to her, then she ‘wouldn’t be that bothered really’. When Rebekah asked why, Coleen told her she hadn’t realised and thought it might have been her children playing with her phone. 

The message said: ‘Oh, I didn’t even know, the kids have my phone all the time, they’ve probably done it, let me check.’

Coleen admitted: ‘I did tell her a fib.’ Mr Tomlinson asked: ‘Why weren’t you simply honest with her?’ She said: ‘Mrs Vardy never came to me and said it was me, despite the fact I’d given warnings on Instagram, so why should I be honest?’

Coleen said she did not believe Rebekah would ‘tell the truth anyway, even if I confronted her’. 

Asked whether the best thing to do would have been to warn her this was going on, she asserted that Rebekah had told a ‘lot of lies’.

Crucially, she added that not only did she think it was Rebekah’s account that was leaking stories to The Sun, but also Rebekah herself was aware. ‘I believe she knew all along’, she said.

And Coleen told of her shock at receiving a legal letter of complaint about a month after the Wagatha Christie post. She said: ‘I was quite spooked by that, I’ve never been in a position to be sent a lawyer’s letter before. Any lawyer’s letter would be threatening to me, I’ve never had one before.’

Asked about trolling directed at Rebekah after the post, she said: ‘It was disgusting, I would never wish that on anyone.’

Mr Tomlinson said Coleen chose to do nothing about it. But she said she was taking the advice of her lawyers at the time. She told the court she was convinced from an ‘early stage’ that Rebekah was the one leaking the stories. ‘It was continuous for so long,’ she said.

Asked if she attacked Rebekah in the post, Coleen said: ‘I’ve not used vicious words, I thought that was an OK way of putting it.’

Coleen continued giving evidence today, having said last Friday that she was glad she ‘put an end’ to Rebekah allegedly leaking other people’s information after her bid to catch the person ‘betraying’ her ‘red-handed’.

Last week Coleen told the trial how her marriage almost fell apart after Rooney was caught drink-driving with a party girl in 2017. Coleen said that in the aftermath of the incident involving former office worker Laura Simpson, she and their children stayed with her parents and she ‘didn’t know how my marriage was going to work out’. 

This morning, Coleen was accompanied by her husband Wayne Rooney, and she wore a grey jacket and trousers with a black top. The couple stepped out of a silver Mercedes and were met by a crowd of photographers.

Rebekah arrived at the Royal Courts of Justice in a black Mercedes moments later. Wearing a yellow jacket and skirt, she walked past the waiting crowd of photographers and journalists and went into the building.

Coleen began giving evidence at the Royal Courts of Justice on Friday afternoon and is expected to continue speaking up until this afternoon – with her husband Wayne Rooney due to step into the witness box tomorrow.

Describing the ‘sting operation’ in her statement, Coleen said: ‘I wanted to catch the account responsible ‘red-handed’ as it were and so I came up with a plan.’

She revealed how she reinstated Rebekah as a follower then posted messages on Instagram Stories, a feature which allows users to make posts that are only accessible for 24 hours.

Coleen explained users can limit which of their followers they allow to view the post and a ‘Seen By’ function shows which accounts have viewed it.

Coleen went on to post a string of false stories. They included a fake claim that she was going to go through gender selection treatment in Mexico and that a devastating storm had led to their basement being flooded at their £20million Cheshire home.

Rebekah’s account viewed Coleen’s invented stories which ended up featuring in The Sun, it is claimed.

Mr Tomlinson said Coleen had been using ‘lawyers’ language’ in describing how her sting unfolded in her statement.

She wrote in her statement: ‘For the avoidance of any doubt I did not mention this plan or the content of the sting operation to anyone or discuss it with any person at any time.

‘Nobody knew the detail of what was going on apart from me. It killed me not telling anyone about it but I managed it.’

Coleen was additionally asked about a ‘congratulations’ WhatsApp message she sent to Rebekah after reading about her pregnancy – despite the fact she already suspected her as ‘the grass’.

Mr Tomlinson asked: ‘So you knew she was pregnant and going to have her child towards the end of the year and would be potentially in quite a vulnerable state?’

‘I was being genuine, as a woman,’ said Coleen. ‘Even though I had suspicions, I would never, ever wish any harm to someone, these were genuine congratulations.

Also in court today, Coleen told how she stopped her initial investigation after two days as she wanted to enjoy her holiday in Mexico with her family.

She began the sting by posting a message saying she had travelled to the country to undergo gender selection treatment. She falsely claimed that having four sons she was looking to add a girl to the family.

Coleen said she ‘kept an eye’ to see if the false story appeared in The Sun but after nothing initially happened she unblocked all her other friends.

Coleen said she ‘wanted to continue with the holiday and make memories with my family and post messages I usually post’.

She said that at the time Instagram was an important way of keeping in touch with family and friends which was difficult as the family were living in America at the time after Wayne signed for Washington club DC United.

She said: ‘Because of the time difference Instagram played a big part in my life. It was nice just to see familiar faces in posts.’

Coleen was also asked about her publicist Rachel Monk, whom she described as somebody who oversees her media projects, and has ‘worked on and off with me for years now’. She said approaches from the media about stories were typically sent to Monk PR, and later Mark Whittle – both of whom are expected to give evidence later today.

A message was read out from Ms Monk, who was alerting Coleen to a story being pursued by the Sun regarding Coleen finding a babysitter. Coleen was asked if she believed Rebekah was still leaking stories, despite being unfollowed by Coleen shortly beforehand. She said she didn’t know what Rebekah was thinking at the time, but thinks she might have believed she had ‘got away with it’.

‘We were living in America at the time’ of the post, she said, and babysitters wasn’t something she often spoke about. The court heard the request from the Sun came ten days after a private Instagram post about the subject.

Coleen also admitted that she wanted The Sun’s ‘gender selection’ story to run, so she could amass evidence for her investigation, the court heard.

In messages between her and Ms Monk, it emerged that the newspaper approached Coleen via Ms Monk, before the story was published in August 2019.

‘I said [to Ms Monk] ‘say you can’t get hold of me, or say nothing’,’ she said. ‘I wanted the story to run so I would have evidence.

‘I felt that would be an extra step, I would have my story which only one account had seen. I wanted my own evidence, but the story was totally untrue.’

PR expert Ms Monk told how leaks about her private life were causing Coleen ‘huge distress’.

But Ms Monk, who has worked with Coleen along with her husband on ‘a professional, friendly’ basis ‘for many, many years’, said she had no idea the WAG was working secretly on a sting operation.

She said Coleen first raised concerns with her about leaks in March 2019 while the couple were living in America after Wayne signed for Washington team DC United.

It happened after The Sun journalists contacted her over a story about how the couple had finally found a babysitter they could trust and were at last able ‘to go out on lots of dates in Washington’, the court heard.

Ms Monk said she sent Coleen a WhatsApp after a request to comment on the story.

She said Coleen replied saying: “This story has come from my Instagram again…I put it on last week on my story that we finally had a babysitter and was out on St Patrick’s Day”.

In her written statement Ms Monk said: ‘Coleen went on to say that it was “the same person that has been telling the sun”. I knew that this was a reference to leaks from Coleen’s private Instagram account because of Coleen’s earlier tweets in January 2019. ‘Coleen hadn’t instructed me to make any comment in response to the ‘babysitter story’ and so, to the best of my recollection, I did not go back to The Sun about that specific story.

‘Coleen then confirmed in her message to me that she had a suspicion that it was Rebekah Vardy who was responsible for the leaks and asked me if it was possible for me to discreetly find out who The Sun’s source was for the babysitter story; and whether Rebekah Vardy had any links with The Sun.’

She replied saying it would be very difficult to find out The Sun’s source or sources since journalists do not give away their newspaper’s sources for stories.’

Referring to Coleen’s Wagatha Christie investigation into Rebekah, she wrote in her witness statement: ‘I had no idea that Coleen had been uploading fake stories to her private Instagram account, nor that she had limited access to only Rebekah Vardy’s Instagram account, nor that she was going to go public about the matter.’

Coleen also described the messages between Rebekah and her agent Caroline Watt as ‘evil’.

She told the court: ‘I’ve never met Caroline Watt, I didn’t know her, but the messages between them were evil, speaking about someone they don’t even know. It was just totally untrue – I have never done anything to them and for them to call me…. It just shocked me.’

Earlier Coleen told how a story she believed was based on the third and final ‘fake post’ about a flooded basement in her new Cheshire mansion was the trigger for her bombshell Wagatha post the following day.

She has said in her statement: ‘That evening, on 8 October 2019, I uploaded a post to the Private Instagram Account with a quote which said ‘Don’t play games with a girl who can play better’ with the caption ‘One thing I am not is stupid…much wiser than you think’.’

She added: ‘By this point (late-evening on 8 October 2019), I had decided that I was going to make an announcement the following morning. I drafted something on pen and paper in the evening ready to be posted the next day. Wayne was in the US at the time so it was just me and the kids in the house. I didn’t speak to him about it.

‘In the morning of 9 October 2019, I uploaded a post to my Private Instagram Account which said ‘after years of my personal Instagram posts getting leaked to the SUN newspaper…I’ve finally cracked it and know exactly who’s account it is!!!!’

She said the reaction to her post was ‘way bigger than I thought it would be.’ Mr Tomlinson said: ‘But you wrote it as a whodunnit to grab attention where you say ‘It’s…..’

But Coleen responded that she often used ‘dots’ in her posts.

Last Friday, Coleen began giving evidence in Court 13. Asked by Rebekah’s barrister Hugh Tomlinson QC what she set out to achieve with the widely shared post, Coleen replied: ‘I wasn’t achieving anything, what I wanted was to stop the person who was leaking my private information to The Sun.’

Coleen added that she had given out warnings ‘many times’, but ‘it didn’t stop’.

‘This was my last resort,’ she continued. In a witness statement, she outlined her ‘growing sense of suspicion’ that Rebekah’s account might be linked to alleged leaks.

She explained she made two warning posts on social media and temporarily removed Rebekah from her account ‘but nothing had worked’.

Coleen added that she ‘wanted to catch the account responsible ‘red-handed’ as it were and so I came up with a plan’, before outlining her so-called ‘sting operation’ of positing fake stories and limiting access to them to Rebekah’s Instagram account.

She claimed that her concerns ‘went beyond my own posts’, writing: ‘I knew that I could not be the only one whose trust was being abused by the culprit and I now know from having seen the WhatsApp exchanges between Becky and Caroline that Becky was leaking information about a whole range of other people too.

‘I thought whoever was doing this was probably betraying other people in this way too.’

She added: ‘There have been no leaks of posts from my account since. No doubt similar behaviour by Becky was also a real worry for many others too. I am glad I have put an end to it.’

In court on Friday, Mr Tomlinson suggested Coleen had ‘no evidence’ to establish that Rebekah leaked information from her personal Instagram account.

‘I believe that Mrs Vardy knew that this was happening, whether it was Mrs Vardy herself or it was someone she’s given permission to,’ Coleen said.

Mr Tomlinson replied that ‘you might believe that Derby County will win the premiership’, adding: ‘It’s not evidence that they are going to.’

‘No it’s not,’ she replied.

Coleen’s husband, former England footballer Wayne Rooney, is manager of the Derby County football team and was sat metres away from his wife during the hearing.

Before Coleen began her evidence on Friday afternoon, Rebekah entered the witness box for the final day of her evidence, telling the court she felt ‘bullied and manipulated’ while facing cross examination.

Rebekah, who became emotional during her evidence, told the court that she ‘wanted to clear her name’ and had brought the legal action for her children.

Earlier in the trial, TV personality Rebekah was asked about a 2004 interview in the defunct tabloid about a sexual encounter she said she had with singer Peter Andre.

Coleen’s barrister David Sherborne showed what appeared to be an A3 printout of the article to Rebekah in the witness box, before reading the headline: ‘Peter’s hung like a small chipolata, shaved, slobbery, lasts five minutes.’

However, Rebekah previously said that she was ‘forced into a situation by my ex-husband’ to do the interview.

On Friday, Rebekah was asked questions by her barrister, Hugh Tomlinson QC, about the article.

Mr Tomlinson asked: ‘Looking back now all these years, nearly 20 years since, can you remember whether the things presented in the article were things you actually said?’ 

Rebekah replied: ‘There’s a lot of things in there that did not come out of my mouth that were misrepresented in the circumstances around that article I’m deeply sorry for. It’s shameful reading that, and one of my biggest regrets.’

Coleen is defending the libel claim brought by Rebekah on the basis of truth and public interest.

The libel battle comes after Coleen publicly claimed that an account behind three fake stories in The Sun that she had posted on her personal Instagram account was Rebekah’s.

The fake stories Coleen planted on her Instagram during the sting operation featured her travelling to Mexico for a ‘gender selection’ procedure, her planning to return to TV, and the basement flooding at her home.

In the post on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, she wrote: ‘I have saved and screenshotted all the original stories which clearly show just one person has viewed them. ‘It’s ………. Rebekah Vardy’s account.’

As the toxic feud between Coleen Rooney and Rebekah Vardy spilled out in public for a second week, here is a summary of the evidence as it was heard in court:

COLEEN’S TESTIMONY 

Rebekah ‘got into a spat with Sarah Harding at National Television Awards after she was caught going through the Girls Aloud singer’s handbag’

Rebekah got into a heated argument with Sarah Harding at the 2018 National Television Awards after the Girls Aloud singer spotted her rifling through her handbag, the High Court heard last week.

The story – which was published in several tabloid newspapers at the time – was mentioned by Coleen Rooney in written documents she submitted to the High Court as part of the £3million Wagatha Christie libel trial.

Coleen claimed: ‘She got in a spat with former Girls Aloud group member Sarah Harding during the 2018 event because Sarah apparently caught Becky taking photographs of the contents of Sarah’s handbag when Sarah had dropped it on the floor.

‘Their dispute subsequently appeared in The Sun.’

Rebekah is said to have ‘come to blows’ with Sarah hours after the 2018 NTAs had been broadcast on ITV.

According to an article published at the time in The Mirror, Sarah accused Rebekah of taking ‘sneaky pictures’ of her, sparking a ‘heated’ row between the pair that caused a ‘huge scene’.

Sources claimed that Sarah had dropped her bag inside the bash, and as she proceeded to pick up her belongings from the floor, she saw a camera flash and I’m A Celebrity star Rebekah standing nearby with her phone in her hand.

It is said the singer saw red and accused mother-of-five Rebekah of taking sly pictures of her while she was scrambling around collecting her things.

The insiders continued that Rebekah, the wife of footballer Jamie Vardy, was left irked by the accusation and insisted that hadn’t been the case, offering to show Sarah her phone, before demanding an apology from the Celebrity Big Brother star.

‘Rebekah couldn’t believe the insinuation and angrily insisted she hadn’t even been using her phone,’ they claimed.

‘A few of their friends had to step in and intervene because they were getting really heated with one another- it caused a huge scene.’

Sarah died on September 5 last year after being diagnosed with advanced breast cancer.    

Wagatha Christie post was a ‘last resort’

Coleen has claimed that she made her bombshell social media post in October 2019 about carrying out her so-called ‘sting operation’ as a ‘last resort’.

Mr Tomlinson asked her what she wanted to achieve from the post.

‘I wasn’t achieving anything,’ she said, adding: ‘What I wanted was to stop the person who was leaking my private information to The Sun.’ She told the court that she had given out warnings ‘many times’, but ‘it didn’t stop’.

‘I’ve never been friends with Rebekah’: Coleen says she’s ‘never socially interacted’ with rival WAG  

Coleen told the hearing that she had never been friends with Rebekah.

Describing their relationship she said: ‘I’ve never had a drink with Mrs Vardy. We’ve never socially interacted. We’ve met on a few occasions at football but we’ve never interacted socially.

‘I’ve never picked the phone up to Rebekah Vardy. The only time I spoke to her on the phone was the day of the post.’

She said the first contact the pair had ever had was when she and her husband were invited to her wedding to Jamie in May 2016.

She said: ‘We couldn’t make it. It was a busy time of the year. I sent a gift and Rebekah replied saying ”thank you”.’

She said she was unable to go as it was a ‘busy time’ at the end of the season.

Describing how her investigation began to gain momentum, Coleen said: ‘There were a number of things that added up with the others. I didn’t just pluck it out of thin air.

‘I suspected this person was having a relationship with The Sun so I googled it, looked at past articles and saw the connection between Rebekah Vardy and The Sun.

‘This thing was not just thought of overnight. I did think of it for a long time. As I’ve said I’m not one who just jumps on things.’

She said: ‘I was trying to get more information and put it together with the information I already had. I came up with Rebekah Vardy. 

‘There was no other person on my private Instagram who was in a position to give this information to The Sun.’

Coleen wanted to catch the account responsible for leaking her information ‘red-handed’

In her witness statement, Coleen said she had made two warning posts and temporarily removed Rebekah from her account ‘but nothing had worked’.

She continued: ‘I wanted to catch the account responsible ‘red-handed’ as it were and so I came up with a plan.’

Describing her plan, Coleen said: ‘I decided that I would invent and fabricate a story, limit accessibility in such a way so that it was only Becky’s Instagram account that could view it, upload it to Instagram via Instagram Stories for a period of 24 hours so that it was only ‘Seen By’ Becky’s Instagram account and then I would wait and see whether my fabricated/invented story, which had only been seen by Becky’s Instagram account, appeared in The Sun.’

She added: ‘For the avoidance of any doubt, I did not mention this plan or the content of the Sting Operation to anyone or discuss it with any person at any time.

‘Nobody knew the detail of what was going on apart from me. It killed me not telling anyone about it but I managed it.’ 

I’m surprised by how much interest my Wagatha Christie post caused, Coleen tells the High Court

The WAG said she was ‘surprised’ by ‘how much interest’ her social media post caused.

‘Obviously it was going to get picked up by the media,’ she said, explaining that her life had been covered by the media for the last 20 years ‘no matter how big or small’ something was.

Asked by Hugh Tomlinson QC if she had a ‘large loyal following’ on social media, Coleen replied: ‘I have a large following yes, loyal I’m not too sure about.’

Coleen DENIES making Wagatha Christie post to make Rebekah subject to abuse

Coleen insisted she did not make her 2019 Wagatha Christie post to direct trolls at Rebekah.

It was put to her by Rebekah’s barrister Mr Tomlinson at the High Court this afternoon.

She said: ‘No that’s not my intention at all. I wouldn’t ever, it’s not in my nature to cause abuse or trolling in any way at all.’

When asked if she would have tried to mitigate any abuse with a post, she replied: ‘Maybe I would have liked to have said that but I have never been in a court, I have never been in a legal case before, this is the first time I have gone under instruction of my legal team.’

Coleen ‘removed Rebekah from her private Instagram account AFTER her car crash story was leaked’

Coleen described her decision to remove Rebekah from her private Instagram account after a story about her car being damaged was leaked to The Sun.

In her witness statement, she said: ‘Going through the Instagram accounts of friends and family one by one and assessing whether or not you thought they were responsible for leaking information about you to The Sun was a horrible exercise.’

She added: ‘The leaks were consistent and they were coming from my own private Instagram account, as opposed to just wider information about my life, and therefore there was a relatively limited pool of possible suspects.

‘I came to the conclusion that the account responsible clearly had a relationship with The Sun and its journalists because it was only The Sun that was printing the ‘exclusive’ articles based upon information from my private Instagram account.’ 

Coleen blasts ‘sickening’ message between Rebekah and her agent referencing her dead sister

Coleen said a message between Rebekah and her agent referencing her dead sister ‘knocked me sick’ when it was disclosed.

Coleen wrote in her witness statement: ‘While they were discussing her messaging me in order to cover her tracks, Becky says to Caroline Watt ‘maybe I should say something about Rosie’.

‘Rosie is a reference to my sister who suffered with Rett Syndrome and passed away in 2013 at the age of just 14.

‘The mere fact that Becky would suggest seeking to use Rosie’s name in conversation with me in order to put me off the scent of suspecting Becky as the person responsible for leaking my private information to The Sun is really low and sad.

‘It actually knocked me sick when I read that message from Becky to Caroline.’ 

Rebekah would ‘regularly’ message Coleen when there was press coverage about the WAG, court hears

Rebekah would ‘regularly’ message Coleen when there was press coverage about Wayne Rooney’s wife, the High Court has heard.

Saying Rebekah was ‘not in my circle’, Coleen said: ‘I felt like when she contacted me it was to try and get information out of me.’

Rebekah’s messages to her came ‘when something not nice was going on in my personal life’, Coleen claimed.

She said Rebekah’s messages were ‘generally nice’, but added that ‘towards the end its was a bit unusual’.

‘Someone who was not that close to me… constantly checking in with me all the time,’ Coleen said.

Coleen ‘offered an olive branch’ to Rebekah but it was ‘in vain’ 

Coleen told how she offered ‘an olive branch’ to Rebekah in a bid to end their bitter public despite in the wake of her ‘Wagatha Christie’ revelations.

Coleen, 36, said she made three attempts to bring their legal battle to a close as she believed it would ‘benefit neither Becky nor myself’.

But she said her efforts had all been ‘in vain’.

In a written statement submitted to the court she said: ‘I would like to highlight at the outset of this witness statement that I have sought to resolve this matter amicably on various occasions because I was of the view that the time, money, resources and efforts involved could be better spent elsewhere – particularly in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.

She told how she made three separate attempts to call a truce, the first in May 2020 before proceedings were issued.

Coleen tried again after filing legal documents in October 2020 then made a further attempt in January 2021.

But she said: ‘The efforts I made were in vain.’

She added: ‘I have no doubt that this litigation, whatever the outcome, will benefit neither Becky nor myself.

Coleen continued: ‘I should, however, highlight that those attempts to compromise this dispute were not made due to any concern with the underlying merits or an absence of confidence in my position.

‘I was seeking to be pragmatic and to consider the bigger picture in order to enable both parties to move on with our respective lives – essentially an olive branch if you will.

‘I have always been confident in the truth of what I posted on October 9 2019.

She said Rebekah’s WhatsApp conversations with her agent Caroline Watt, had ‘only further reinforced my view on that’. 

Rebekah ‘leaked details of Wayne Rooney’s marital woes after he was caught drink-driving with a woman he met in a bar’ 

Rebekah leaked details of Wayne being caught drink driving with a woman he had met in a bar, Coleen said in court documents.

The former England star’s wife told how she was left ‘really hurt’ after details of how she had moved out of the family home with her sons in the wake of the incident were made public. She said she felt ‘as though someone that I trusted was betraying me at a very difficult time.’

Coleen posted a picture of herself with her sons on her private Instagram account after her husband was pulled over by police as he drove home with single mother Laura Simpson.

The following day The Sun newspaper published an article which said Coleen had ‘dropped a heavy hint that she would keep the kids with her if she and Wayne do split’.

It revealed how Coleen ‘uploaded two poignant photos of the boys on her Instagram account and wrote: ‘No matter where I am they always follow me, and I hope that lasts forever’.’

Rebekah ‘was ‘fishing’ for information as she checked in on Coleen after Wayne’s marital woes leak’, court hears 

Rebekah allegedly ‘fished’ for information after the Rooneys’ marital woes were leaked, the High Court has heard.

In her written statement, Coleen told how Rebekah exchanged WhatsApp posts with Rebekah over the next two days ‘in which she checked in on how I was doing and even offered for me to stay at her house if I wanted to get away from things’.

Coleen said: ‘On the face of things, this was obviously a nice gesture, but I did think at the time that it was a bit over the top because Becky and I weren’t particularly close friends.’

Coleen told how she believes Rebekah had been ‘fishing for information’ in previous exchanges between them. She said there had been discussions between the pair from August 2016 to February 2017 ‘in which she would directly ask me about topics involving me that had been mentioned in the press.

Coleen said: ‘For instance, she asked me about an attempted burglary at my house, about a potential midwife documentary and about my house build. At the time I just thought she was trying to be friendly but was a bit too keen.

‘In hindsight, I do wonder whether her messages – and indeed all of the messages that she sent to me subsequently were just fishing for information to pass to the media.’

News story about Wayne’s drink-driving ‘quoted Coleen’s Instagram caption word-for-word’

Coleen said in her witness statement: ‘No other content had been uploaded to my social media platforms about the incident and I hadn’t mentioned the Marriage Post to anybody else.

‘It was obvious to me that a follower on my private Instagram account had leaked the Marriage Post to The Sun and that the source of the marriage article was the Marriage Post.’

Coleen continued: ‘There was so much going on at that time that I didn’t take any action or do anything about the leak but I definitely took note of it and was really hurt by it, particularly because I felt as though someone that I trusted was betraying me at a very difficult time.’

‘I split from Wayne’, Coleen admits for the first time  

Coleen admitted for the first time that she split from husband Wayne and feared her marriage was over after he was caught drink-driving with party girl Laura Simpson in 2017.

Her sensational disclosure came as she discussed ‘the pyjama post’ which she shared at the end of 2017. It was an image of her and three of her children (she was pregnant with her fourth child at the time) wearing matching polka dot pyjamas in the family bed.

But on her private account she shared another image showing husband Wayne in the bed.

She explained when she saw a story she believed was based on the post, it upset her.

‘I was in a vulnerable situation –there had been some wrongdoing by my husband.

‘I was spending a lot of time at my parents’ house. I didn’t know how my marriage was going to work out.

‘Me and Wayne were trying to figure out our relationship and where we were going.

‘But I didn’t want the public to know that – I know how quick the papers are to jump onto things.

‘I hadn’t settled on: ‘this is it, we are getting back together’

She also said that when she and Wayne moved to the US she was homesick and ‘cried every night and couldn’t do Facetime with my parents – it was horrific.’

She added it was the first time she had moved ‘more than 45 minutes up the road’ from her family and said her parents had both helped her enormously bringing up her children. 

Leaks ‘strained Coleen’S relationships with fellow WAGs and ‘those close to me who thought that I suspected them as potentially being responsible”

Leaks about Coleen’s life ‘strained her relationships with fellow WAGs and ‘those close to me who thought that I suspected them as potentially being responsible”, the court has heard.

In her written statement, Coleen wrote: ‘I would get people coming up to me to say things like ‘I hope you know that it isn’t me’ or ‘I hope you know that I would never do that to you’.

‘It was horrible having friends think that they were under the microscope and needed to explain themselves. I recall having such conversations with close friends who I have known for years.

‘No doubt there would be countless others who felt in a similar position but were too embarrassed to bring it up with me direct. ‘

She said Shauna Muamba – the wife of former Premier League player Fabrice Muamba – who she described as ‘a friend who I have known for years’ messaged her because ‘she she was worried that I suspected it was her.’

I have always been confident in the truth of my Wagatha Christie post, Coleen says

Coleen said she has ‘always been confident in the truth’ of her viral post accusing Rebekah Vardy of leaking her private information to The Sun.

She wrote in her witness statement: ‘I have always been confident in the truth of what I posted on October 9 2019 and the documentation which Becky has disclosed as part of these proceedings, in particular her WhatsApp conversations with her agent Caroline Watt, has only further reinforced my view on that.’

Coleen continued: ‘Friends and family are the most important to me and it was messing with my head that someone who I trusted was doing this to me. It annoyed and hurt me.

‘It even messed with my friends and family because they felt like I suspected them of being responsible.’

Rebekah’s alleged Secret Wag column ended ‘abruptly’ after bombshell Wagatha Christie post

Rebekah’s alleged Secret Wag column ended ‘abruptly’ after Coleen made her bombshell Wagatha Christie post in October 2019, the High Court.

In her written statement, Coleen claimed: ‘Following the post, the Secret WAG column only released a further three articles – two of which had no doubt already been prepared prior to my post – and came to an abrupt end.

‘One was about footballer manager Jose Mourinho, another was about Georgina Cleverley and one was about my dispute with Becky.

‘The Secret WAG article about my dispute with Becky began with the wording ‘OMG! HOW could she!!?? Coleen Rooney has created the biggest WAG fallout since Nicola McLean whipped off her 32FF superbra’.’

I’m glad no one else now has to worry about ‘Becky’ leaking stories to the Press, says Coleen 

Coleen has said she is glad she has ‘put an end’ to the leaking of information she alleges Rebekah Vardy carried out.

In her witness statement, she wrote: ‘I should add that my concerns went beyond my own posts.

‘I knew that I could not be the only one whose trust was being abused by the culprit and I now know from having seen the WhatsApp exchanges between Becky and Caroline that Becky was leaking information about a whole range of other people too.

‘I thought whoever was doing this was probably betraying other people in this way too.’

Coleen added: ‘There have been no leaks of posts from my account since. No doubt similar behaviour by Becky was also a real worry for many others too. I am glad I have put an end to it.’

I can’t always be sure the other WAGs who follow my private Instagram account won’t leak stories to the media, says Coleen

Coleen told the High Court that she can’t always be sure the other WAGs who follow her private Instagram account won’t leak stories to the Press.

Mr Tomlinson highlighted that the more than 300 followers of Coleen’s private account included WAGs as well as family and friends.

Coleen said of the account: ‘When I’ve accepted people on to the account I’ve accepted them because I do have trust in them. But this whole process has proved that it can’t always be true.’

Mr Tomlinson said: ‘You hope and expect that people who have access to your private Instagram account will keep its contents away from the press but you can’t guarantee it.’

‘No,’ Coleen said.

‘You can’t be sure,’ Mr Tomlinson added, with Coleen replying: ‘No you can’t.’

Jamie Vardy’s wife ‘deliberately sat behind Coleen Rooney at Euros 2016 football game to boost her fame’

Rebekah ‘deliberately sat behind Coleen Rooney at Euros 2016 football game to boost her fame’, London’s High Court has heard.

In her witness statement, Coleen described the incident where there was ‘a commotion’ during the match in France after she claimed Rebekah moved seats to ensure she was sitting behind her.

She said husband Wayne’s agent Paul Stretford ‘mentioned to me in passing after the game that there had been some commotion because Becky had decided to sit in different seats to those allocated to her and the seats which she had decided to sit in were directly behind me’.

Coleen said: ‘In the days following the game there were photos of me and Becky watching the game.

‘Becky then mentioned me in her column in her Euro 2016 diary for The Sun. I believe that the reason for this was that Becky deliberately sat herself behind me, even though they were not her allocated seats, to try and guarantee her appearance in the media and I recall subsequently speaking to one of the FA staff about the matter sometime later and she confirmed that to be the case.

‘I recall Becky trying to smooth things over on WhatsApp with me following Euro 2016 but this incident had stuck in my mind.’

Rebekah ‘always stuck out as someone who wanted to be famous’ and ‘was trying too hard to be friendly with me’, Coleen tells court

Coleen has described Rebekah as fame-hungry and ‘tried too hard’ to be friends with the fellow footballer’s wife.

In court documents, Coleen said of Jamie Vardy’s wife: ‘Because of her extensive appearances in the tabloid press, her column in The Sun during Euro 2016 and her appearance on ‘I’m A Celebrity’ whilst still relatively unknown, Becky certainly stuck out to me as being someone who actively wanted to be famous.

‘Becky and I had never had an issue with one another, as far as I was aware.

‘We got on fine, but I did gradually feel like she was very keen to be friendly with me and she was trying too hard and it was a bit too much.

‘To this day, the only time I spoke to Becky on the phone was after the post on October 9 2019 and we have never met up just the two of us or anything like that, although we have been at some football games, or football-related events, as part of a bigger group.’

WAGs ‘commonly stage paparazzi shots in order to be in the limelight’

Coleen says WAGs ‘commonly stage paparazzi shots with agencies’ in order to be in the ‘limelight’.

The claim comes after Rebekah and her publicist Caroline Watt were accused of secretly organising a paparazzi photo with fellow WAGs outside a restaurant in Russia during the 2018 World Cup.

In her witness statement, Coleen said: ‘I have been involved in football circles for around 20 years.

‘I’ve come across different types of footballers’ partners, some of them enjoy and seek the limelight and work on it, others get brought into it because of the high-profile nature of their partner.

‘I know from my experience in the media that a common tactic of those who want to be famous is that they will stage paparazzi shots with agencies.

Those shots will then be sold to the tabloid press and the individual in question will split the monies earned from the tabloid press with the paparazzi agent or they will get other benefits such as being able to help control their image in the press.’  

Wayne Rooney’s mother messaged Coleen ‘because press had been knocking at their house to see whether they had any comment about Becky leaking stories about me’

Wayne Rooney’s mother Jeanette messaged Coleen ‘because press had been knocking at their house to see whether they had any comment about Becky leaking stories about me’, the court has heard.

Coleen said: ‘Jeanette explained that she had no idea what was going on because she didn’t know anything about Becky leaking information about me.

‘I told Jeanette that it had been going for ages but I hadn’t been able to say anything previously because I had been trying to catch out the person responsible.’    

Rooneys’ attempts to patch things up after the drink-driving arrest were also made public, court hears

Coleen and Wayne Rooney’s attempts to patch things up after the drink-driving arrest were also made public, the High Court has heard.

An article in The Sun claimed Rooney has been forgiven for his night out with Laura Simpson after being ‘allowed back into the marital bed by Coleen’.

The article on November 1, 2017 told how ‘the shamed footballer has been reunited with wife for the first time at home.’

It said Coleen had shown a photo to friends of Wayne cuddling up to their three sons Kai, Klay and Kit and wearing matching pyjamas as the family celebrated Halloween together.

Coleen published the image on her private Instagram account but only showed one of herself and her sons on her public account.

Coleen wrote in her statement to the court: ‘Whilst I was comfortable enough to upload the photograph of Wayne to my private Instagram account, I made a conscious decision not to upload the photograph with him in to my Twitter account or to my public Instagram account because of the difficulties between us at the time.’

Coleen told how she was ‘really shocked and disappointed’ that there had been another leak from her private Instagram account.

She said that in response she took a screenshot of a section of the article with the caption: ‘The GRASS strikes again!!!….I put that picture on wondering if it would appear in that HORRIBLE newspaper …Your accepted as one of my friends if you really needed the money that bad you could have always just asked instead of being SLY!!!’.

Rebekah tried to convince Coleen journalists had hacked her private Instagram account, court hears

Rebekah tried to convince Coleen that journalists had hacked her private Instagram account, according to court documents.

In her written statement, Coleen described a WhatsApp exchange with Rebekah which she said was ‘peculiar’.

It began when Rebekah sent her a message at 2.36pm saying: ‘Omg wtf is wrong with people! Why have they taken that one of you and the kids and not of wayne in bed! That would have been an even better story in their eyes… d***heads! Hope you are OK’.

Rebekah then said: ‘That is so bad! And The Sun of all people as well! Have you been through all your followers? No one with any celeb mag links? What about being hacked? I would be chomping if that was me! Not on at all’.

Coleen replied: ‘Yeh been through all but can’t remember in point anyone. Got a few people onto it trying to source but if there getting the info there not going to tell. Had things like this in the past and never got to find out.’

Rebekah texted: ‘Yeah that’s true! You don’t think the paper has hacked your account do you?’

Coleen said: ‘No very much doubt it’.   

REBEKAH’S TESTIMONY 

Rebekah discussed Coleen’s private Instagram account with her agent ‘a handful of times’

Rebekah insisted that she only discussed Coleen’s private Instagram account with her agent Caroline Watt ‘a handful of times’.

Rebekah explained that the publicist had access to her own Instagram account password from 2017 when the TV personality appeared on I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here!

Under questioning from her barrister Hugh Tomlinson QC, Jamie Vardy’s wife said she ‘didn’t give it a second thought’ that Ms Watt was able to see Coleen’s private Instagram account.

Asked if she was told by Ms Watt that she was looking at Coleen’s account, Rebekah said: ‘No she didn’t’, adding that it ‘was not even on my radar’ when asked if knew Ms Watt was ‘monitoring’ Coleen’s account.

WAG texted ‘FFS’ message to footballer Danny Drinkwater after his drink-drive crash before leaking the story 

Rebekah admitted plotting to leaking information about Danny Drinkwater’s drink-drive arrest to the media and sent the footballer a ‘FFS’ message after his 2019 car crash, the High Court heard. 

Rebekah told her publicist Caroline Watt that she ‘wanted paying’ for information about the former Leicester City player leaving police custody after his arrest. Earlier in the case she denied she actually wanted money for the tip. 

Drinkwater was banned from driving for 20 months and ordered to complete 70 hours of community service after pleading guilty to drink driving.

Rebekah told her lawyer Mr Tomlinson that she sent Drinkwater a private message on Instagram asking: ‘What have you done FFS Danny?’.

The acronym ‘FFS’ stands for ‘For F**k Sake’ – and earlier this week the court heard Rebekah explain this to Coleen’s lawyer David Sherborne.

Rebekah has also denied asking Drinkwater for his address so she could send paparazzi photographers and reporters around to his home. 

Rebekah calls her Peter Andre ‘chipolata’ 2004 kiss-and-tell interview ‘one of my biggest regrets’

Rebekah has apologised to Peter Andre and his wife for her infamous comments about his ‘chipolata’ manhood, the High Court heard.

The WAG’s barrister asked her about the comments – made in a kiss and tell story in the News of the World in 2004 – as the trial got underway. 

Asked whether the quotes in the article were all from her, Rebekah replied: ‘There are a lot of things in there which didn’t come out of my mouth.’

She said of the article – which compared Andre’s manhood to a ‘small chipolata, shaved, slobbery, lasts five minutes’: ‘It’s shameful really, one of my biggest regrets.’

Rebekah said she was ‘very young at the time’. 

When asked if she has spoken to Andre about it since, she said: ‘I haven’t spoken to him but I sent both his wife and him personal messages a couple of years ago.’ 

Mysterious Girl singer Andre has since spoken out about the claim, insisting his ‘acorn’ has ‘grown into an oak’.    

‘I wasn’t’: Rebekah DENIES telling her agent to leak Coleen Rooney’s car crash to the media

The WAG was also questioned about whether she conspired with her agent to leak a story about Coleen crashing her car in Washington DC to the media after spotting it on her private Instagram. 

The High Court has heard how Ms Watt texted Rebekah admitting that she had given information about Coleen’s crash in Washington DC to The Sun newspaper.

Rebekah said it ‘appeared’ that Ms Watt was the source of the story, but said she didn’t reply to her text because she was too engrossed watching Gemma Collins’ Dancing On Ice ‘faceplant’.

Then Mr Tomlinson asked: ‘Were you instructing Caroline Watt to go into the Instagram to obtain information to leak to The Sun?’

Rebekah replied: ‘No, I wasn’t’.  

‘I don’t know’: Rebekah suggests she didn’t know what her agent was implying when she said ‘it’s on her private Instagram so we can’t do anything with it’ 

Rebekah was questioned in relation to a WhatsApp exchange with Ms Watt in which they discussed Coleen’s child allegedly not wearing a seat belt in a photo from Coleen’s private Instagram.

Mr Tomlinson said that, in a text, Ms Watt said: ‘It’s on the private Instagram so can’t do anything with it.’

He asked Rebekah what she understood Ms Watt to be saying at this point.

‘I don’t know, I didn’t really give it much consideration or much thought,’ Mrs Vardy replied, adding: ‘I was probably doing the school run myself at that time.’

Mr Tomlinson asked: ‘Did you think that Caroline was leaking stories from Coleen’s private Instagram account?’

‘No, I didn’t,’ she said. 

Wayne Rooney told Rebekah a newspaper story claiming he wanted her to keep a lower profile was a ‘load of b*******’

A 2016 story claiming Wayne Rooney wanted Rebekah to keep a lower profile was described by the footballer as ‘a load of bollocks’, the High Court heard.

The story in the Independent claimed that then England captain told Jamie Vardy his wife was getting too much publicity and it was affecting team morale.

But Rebekah told the court: ‘Jamie was quite angry [about the story] that conversation never took place.

‘I had a conversation with Mr Rooney on Facetime about it and he said it was a load of b*******.’

She added: ‘I thought the media was trying to cause problems and stir up trouble, creating a drama and problems where they didn’t exist.’ 

Rebekah says she was scared she could lose her baby after Coleen’s ‘social media sting’ post  

Rebekah told the court she was scared she was going to lose her baby in the days following Coleen’s bombshell Wagatha post.

She was seven months pregnant at the time, and was asked by her solicitors to export her WhatsApp messages onto her laptop on October 15, 2019, just six days after the post.

Asked to describe her state of mind at the time, she sobbed as she said: ‘Constant anxiety, panic attacks, and I was scared I was going to lose my baby.’

She denied deliberately deleting the information which the court has heard was lost during the export. 

WAG denies deleting her WhatsApp messages to get rid of evidence 

Rebekah has denied ever purposefully deleting her WhatsApp messages.

The court previously heard swathes of messages were unavailable because they had been accidently wiped, while others did not show images, video, or audio they contained.

Mr Tomlinson asked: ‘Have you at any stage deliberately deleted anything from your WhatsApp messages?’

‘No, never’, she replied.

Moments earlier she spoke of her emotional state at the time she was exporting her messages, during which she claims many were inadvertently deleted.

She said: ‘I wasn’t very well, I was having constant panic attacks, anxiety, I was scared I was going to lose my baby.’ 

‘I feel like I’ve been bullied and manipulated’: Rebekah slams barrister David Sherborne after ‘exhausting’ cross-examination

As Rebekah’s lawyer closed her case, Mr Tomlinson asked her how she had found the experience of being cross-examined by Mr Sherborne.

‘Exhausting, intimidating – I feel like I’ve been bullied and manipulated,’ she said through tears.

He asked her why she had continued with the case and again she became emotional as she said: I wanted to clear my name, not just for me, but for my family and my children.’

‘Why has Coleen Rooney got whiskers on her chinny, chin, chin?’: Latest Wagatha Christie court sketches sees Wayne’s wife likened to ‘poor old’ Michael Finnegan from nursery rhyme… and Rebekah Vardy accused of being a Star Trek ‘Romulan spy’

If the foul-mouthed Whatsapp messages, mystery celebrity affairs and ‘chipolata’ manhood references weren’t enough to keep us entertained, the court sketch artists at the Wagatha Christie trial would certainly do the job. 

Social media users have again been left in stitches at the rather unique drawings, which depict WAG rivals Rebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney – and her husband and former England captain Wayne – as they fight the ‘libel trial of the century’ at London’s High Court. 

While Coleen was seen this week ‘furiously taking notes’ as Rebekah was quizzed in the witness box, the court sketch artists were also rapidly putting pen – or rather pencil – to paper. 

Last Friday, spectators noticed Coleen seemed to have been depicted sporting a new facial feature. 

‘Why has Coleen Rooney got whiskers on her chinny chin chin, in the courts artists sketch?’ one wrote on Twitter, ‘Obviously taking ‘cat scrap’ literally!’

One user compared her to Michael Finnegan, the fictional character from the nursery rhyme, who ‘grew whiskers on his chin-igan’ before the ‘wind came up and blew them in-again’. 

Another noticed how Rebekah seemed to be evolving with every drawing. 

They jibed: ‘I don’t know who has been drawing Rebekah Vardy at the Wagatha Christie trial… but she be a different person of varying height cheek bones every time.’

Another user commented below the post, saying Mrs Vardy looked like Romulan Spy from the iconic sci-fi series Star Trek.  

One court sketch showed Coleen taking notes with her Chanel bag in full view, while Wayne sat next to her staring straight ahead. 

A Twitter user joked: ‘Do Chanel now pay for product placement in court sketches?’ 

Referencing their apparent likeness to video game characters, another jibed: ‘Looking forward to catching up on the trial of Zanglef and Chun-Li from street fighter today.’ 

Others branded the sketches ‘priceless’ while one said they looked like they had been drawn on an Etch a Sketch.  

Under current laws and in almost every circumstance, it is illegal to take photographs and video inside courts, meaning news organisations often commission artists to make court sketches.

The artists are highly skilled and face a difficult task, because they are only allowed a few minutes to make a series of base lines.

They then leave the courtroom, and usually sit in the foyer of the court, where they expand on their marker lines purely from memory.

Court artists also have to work at pace, with the images often needed or finished within an hour or less. But this often results in rather unusual depictions.   

Last week, commenters on Twitter likened one portrait of the Rooneys to medieval art from the 1400s. 

Mike Peters said: ‘Thanks to the court artist for allowing us to imagine what it would look like if the Rooneys were at Agincourt.’

He was referencing a battle between the English and French in 1415, which was heavily depicted through paintings. 

Other sketches from the trial have also been mocked, with people suggesting that both Rebekah Vardy and Wayne Rooney ‘aren’t happy’ with the way they have been depicted.

Charlotte Johnson said on Twitter: ‘I keep seeing random things on Twitter about Rebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney, not even interested in this nonsense, but I applaud the sketch artist in court for getting Michael Jackson pretty much bang on.’

Others focused on the portrayal of Wayne Rooney, with one likening his image to American professional wrestler, Brock Lesnar. 

Another compared an earlier court sketch of the football manager, 36, to the infamous botched restoration of a Spanish fresco of Jesus Christ, now referred to as ‘Monkey Christ’, by Cecilia Jimenez.

The former Manchester United star and current Derby County manager, was compared to a heavyweight boxer in one image, as one fan wrote: ‘Tyson Fury will be furious.’

Another said: ‘That’s taken artistic liberty too the extreme.’  And one Twitter user simply described the person in the snap in one word: ‘Potato!’

Another joked: ‘This court sketch of Wayne Rooney has finished me.’