Coleen Rooney has quipped about Rebekah Vardy owning the rights to ‘Wagatha Christie’ (Picture: REX)
A legal expert has explained what Rebekah Vardy can actually get for trademarking the term ‘Wagatha Christie’ after the infamous trial with Coleen Rooney.
The court case that captured the nation in 2022 was dubbed Wagatha Christie after Coleen’s detective work and months-long ‘sting operation’ that led to her accusing Vardy, 42, of leaking fake stories about her private life to the press.
‘It’s…. Rebekah Vardy’s account,’ she wrote, in a viral social media post in October 2019.
The wife of Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy vehemently denied the claims, proceeding to sue Coleen, 38, for libel, but a High Court judge found Coleen’s post to be ‘substantially true’.
The mum-of-four and wife of former Manchester United and England captain Wayne Rooney has since spoken about the court case in occasional interviews and a Disney+ series, titled Coleen Rooney: The Real Wagatha Story.
Now, during a stint on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! alongside the likes of GK Barry and Tulisa, Coleen has spoken about how ‘draining’ it was, calling the trial her ‘worst nightmare’.
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Coleen called the infamous trial her ‘worst nightmare’ during a chat on I’m A Celebrity (Picture: ITV/Shutterstock)
She also joked about Vardy coming ‘after’ fellow campmate Dean McCullough, after he referenced ‘Wagatha Christie’ in a conversation.
‘That term, who owns that term?’ he asked, to which Loose Women’s Jane Moore said: ‘That’s a whole other… she does.’
‘She might be after you now,’ Coleen quipped.
After losing the libel case, Vardy trademarked the phrase ‘Wagatha Christie’, despite comedian Dan Atkinson claiming to The Guardian that he was the one who coined the phrase.
We now know what that actually means though, and whether it can still be referred to on I’m A Celebrity, with hosts Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly also joking in last night’s episode: ‘If we say those words, we’ll end up getting sued, and end up having to transfer the money to… Rebekah Vardy’s account.’
Vardy was accused of leaking false stories about Coleen’s private life to the press (Picture: PA)
A High Court judge found Coleen’s post to be ‘substantially true’ (Picture: Karwai Tang/WireImage)
Legal expert James Pipe, of freegrantsforfelons.org, told Metro: ‘By trademarking “Wagatha Christie,” Rebekah Vardy gains the exclusive rights to use the name commercially in the UK.
‘This means she can profit from licensing it for products, merchandise, or media projects, such as clothing lines or entertainment content.
‘However, she doesn’t receive anything automatically; for her to benefit, companies or individuals would need to seek her permission and potentially pay a fee to use the trademarked name commercially.
‘It’s also worth noting that the trademark doesn’t stop people from using “Wagatha Christie” in a non-commercial context, such as quoting it in articles, casual conversations, or commentary.
‘Essentially, the trademark gives her a potential avenue to profit, but any actual earnings depend on whether others want to use the name commercially and are willing to pay for it.’
Vardy trademarked the term Wagatha Christie after the trial (Picture: Neil Mockford/GC Images)
After the trial, Coleen said at the time: ‘It was not a case I ever sought or wanted. I never believed it should have gone to court at such expense in times of hardship for so many people when the money could have been far better spent helping others.’
Having been defeated, Vardy was ordered to pay 90% of Coleen’s legal costs.
Coleen is appearing on I’m A Celebrity and following in the footsteps of Vardy, who was on the 17th series of the show in 2017, and has had a lot to say.
‘Everyone seems to think I have this massive problem with Coleen going into the jungle,’ Vardy said to The Sun.
‘But do you know what? If you want to fan the fire, the flames are going to get higher.’
Rebekah was on I’m A Celebrity in 2017 (Picture: ITV/Shutterstock)
She went on: ‘I wasn’t going to carry on talking about this, I had no intentions of talking about it but she clearly can’t let it go.
‘We’ve done a book, we’ve done a documentary, we’re going into the jungle.
‘She’s following in my footsteps. I think she always wanted my life.’
Sources also told MailOnline that Vardy’s legal team will be watching Coleen on I’m A Celebrity ‘like hawks’, with brand and culture expert Nick Ede saying: ‘She will be keeping her eyes and ears glued to the screen in case she can garner any nuggets from Coleen that could potentially defame her.’
He added that Coleen will be careful with her comments while in the jungle: ‘Coleen is a very private person so for her to agree to this will and to appear on the jungle producers will be wanting her to spill more beans about the Wagatha Christie case.’
‘She’s a very careful speaker so will be making sure she rehearses any answers to questions campmates may interrogate her on.
‘She won’t want to face any more issues or court letters from Vardy’s camp.’
I’m A Celebrity continues tonight at 9pm on ITV1.
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