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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Greg Evans

Rebekah Vardy joyfully mocks Coleen Rooney mishap on I’m a Celeb debut

Rebekah Vardy has twice mocked her WAG rival Coleen Rooney, following her debut on I’m a Celebrity.

Rooney is reportedly being paid £1.5m for her appearance on the show, which sees familiar faces undergo a series of gruelling and nauseating challenges.

On Monday’s episode (18 November), the 38-year-old addressed the infamous “Wagatha Christie” court case against Vardy, which she said left her “ashamed”.

Vardy, who writes a regular column for The Sun newspaper, has now mocked Rooney when giving her first opinions on Sunday’s premiere show, which she called an “amazing opening”.

“I have to say, I think it’s the best one so far,” wrote the 42-year-old. “So what did we have? We had disgusting cocktails. We had cockroaches, skydiving, kangaroo anus for dinner, blind Barry and an amazing trouser snake.”

Vardy added: “And I almost forgot to mention, Coleen sank in the river twice. It’s the gift that keeps on giving.”

The episode also saw the stars partake in a rowing challenge, where Rooney was partnered with Radio 1 DJ, Dean McCullough. However, things didn’t quite go to plan and their canoe capsized twice.

The rest of Vardy’s column mostly focused on the other celebrities on this year’s show, praising the likes of Barry McGuigan, Alan Halsall and Jane Moore.

She also spoke fondly of N-Dubz singer Tulisa Contostavlos, referencing her own appearance on the show in 2017. “Tulisa. Oh, my God. I hardly recognise her, but I love her,” said Vardy. “She’s fierce, she looks so determined and she reminds me a bit of how I was in there.

“You know, I really, really wanted to go in and give it all. And, you know, nothing really fazed me in there. But she’s very, very competitive as well, which is great.”

Vardy continued by talking about the “exhausting” McCullough and Ant and Dec’s “lame jokes” but concluded her piece by cycling back to Rooney, writing: “PS Did I mention Coleen sank her boat twice? Oh dear.”

Coleen Rooney is the highest-paid ‘I’m a Celebrity’ contestant ever (ITV)

Reactions on social media have been less than sympathetic to Vardy, with many people siding with Rooney in the situation.

“Rebekah Vardy thought she had the last laugh being a columnist but she’s just got to write about #ImACeleb taking the p*** out of her at every given opportunity,” wrote one person on X/Twitter.

Another person added: “Is she not embarrassed??? Like at all??? In the slightest???”

“This is so embarrassing,” bluntly said another.

Coleen Rooney (left) and Rebekah Vardy during their High Court libel battle (Yui Mok/PA) (PA Archive)

Speaking about the Vardy case escalating to court, Rooney said on Monday’s episode: “That was my worst nightmare to go to court. I felt like it was like putting on a show for the whole world.”

However, she explained that the tone that the case began to be referred to, soon became too humorous for her liking.

“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,” she said about the trial. “No one knew the full story.”

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