Chalkboard is to create a dramatic reconstruction of the Rebekah Vardy v Coleen Rooney court case for Channel 4.
The 2-part drama-documentary will recreate the high court case using court transcripts, these will be juxtaposed with analysis from the media on social media.
“The #WagathaChristie phenomenon has become one of the most talked about moments in the history of social media,” said Tom Popay, Creative Director at Chalkboard.
“The court case that followed has captivated the entire nation but very few people actually got to see what happened inside the courtroom. We’re excited to bring the trial to life in such a unique way and we’re hoping we can get to the bottom of how this case fascinated and amazed so many.”
Vardy v Rooney: A Courtroom Drama will be directed by Oonagh Kearney, who added:
“This trial utterly captivated the public with its daily feed of entertaining exchanges and jaw-dropping reveals. But behind this, is a story of two women under constant public scrutiny, fighting for their reputations. It’s a privilege to work with Channel 4, writer Chris Atkins and the fantastic Chalkboard team to peel back the layers of this story and reveal the beating hearts within.”
The factual drama was commissioned for Channel 4 by Commissioning Editor Tim Hancock with Head of Factual Entertainment, Alf Lawrie.
“The court transcripts are utterly compelling and give a deep insight into the relationship between celebrities and the media, as well as showing how far some people will go to protect their reputation,” said Hancock.
The judgement in the case is due to be published at noon today (Friday).
ADD:
Rebekah Vardy has lost the High Court libel battle she brought against Coleen Rooney. In her ruling, the Judge, Mrs Justice Steyn said it was “likely” that Vardy’s former agent, Caroline Watt, “undertook the direct act” of giving information to The Sun.
In the ruling she wrote that the evidence showed:
“… in my view, that Mrs Vardy knew of and condoned this behaviour, actively engaging in it by directing Ms Watt to the private Instagram account, sending her screenshots of Mrs Rooney’s posts, drawing attention to items of potential interest to the press, and answering additional queries raised by the press via Ms Watt.”
She added:
“In my judgment, the conclusions that I have reached as to the extent to which the claimant engaged in disclosing to the Sun information to which she only had access as a permitted follower of an Instagram account which she knew, and Mrs Rooney repeatedly asserted, was private, suffice to show the single meaning is substantially true.”
