'It wasn't a joke!' - Coleen Rooney explains why 'Wagatha Christie' court case with Rebekah Vardy was 'my worst nightmare' in emotional chat with fellow I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here contestants

Rooney – the wife of Manchester United and England legend Wayne – became embroiled in a stunning libel battle with Vardy – the partner of Leicester City striker Jamie. The case attracted plenty of attention, as it caused great amusement to some, but Coleen has revealed that she was always against “putting on a show for the whole world” – with the 38-year-old initially looking to reach a settlement out of court.

Rooney has told her fellow camp mates on I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here, which is aired on ITV: “That was my worst nightmare to go to court, I felt like it was like putting on a show for the whole world. What got me, over the whole thing, was it became a bit of a joke and that’s really disappointing, it wasn’t a joke for me. No one knew the full story.”

She added when asked if she had been nervous about publishing the initial social media post which started a long-running saga: “No, because I just didn’t think it would have the impact it did, because I was just that sick and tired of it, it was draining."

Rooney dropped a famous “reveal” post in October 2019, in which she claimed that Vardy was taking stories about her to The Sun newspaper – with false information having been leaked in a bid to lure the mole into a trap. Vardy denied the allegations but a High Court Judge ruled that Rooney’s claims were “substantially true” and ordered that her legal costs be covered by a WAG rival.