Rebecca Vardy, who infamously took her fellow footballer’s wife Coleen Rooney to court over an Instagram post, is set to get her own reality show.
The series, titled ‘The Vardys’, is produced by Orchard Studios and is scheduled to air on UK network ITV (and its streaming platform ITVX) later this year. Josh Jacobs is the showrunner for The Vardies.
The series features Rebecca and her husband, former Leicester City footballer Jamie Vardy. He then moved to Cremone, Italy. The show follows a couple and their children as they take off to the continent to start their lives over.
Rebecca Vardy made headlines in 2019 after Coleen Rooney (wife of England soccer star Wayne Rooney) revealed on social media that she was planning to post fake news on her private Instagram account to find out which of her friends was selling stories about her to tabloids. She blocked her followers one by one, until Vardi was the only one left, and she concluded that Vardi was the one selling the articles. The scandal spread across the United States, and Rooney was nicknamed “Wagatha Christie” (a “wag” is the British term for the wives and girlfriends of football players).
Vardy sued Rooney for defamation, but after a stunning trial in 2022 that received extensive media coverage, the judge ruled in Rooney’s favor, leaving Vardy with huge legal costs and her reputation in ruins. The trial led to theater and television specials, and Rooney began having his own series on Disney+.
According to an ITV press release, Vardy is “ready to move on to the next chapter”.
“As she navigates the emotional and physical upheaval of her new move, she reflects on recent challenges in the UK and wants to put the drama of ‘Wagata’ behind her to focus on an exciting new chapter,” the release reads.
Louise Major, Entertainment and Reality Editor at ITV, who commissioned the show alongside Katie Rawcliffe, said: “We’re thrilled to be working with the Vardies on this series for ITV1 and ITVX. At a pivotal moment in their lives, this is a rare revealing look behind the headlines. From Jamie’s footballing exploits to the reality of starting over as a family, Rebecca shares her thoughts on one of the most important milestones in their lives.” Stories that have become popular over the past 10 years. ”
Orchard Studios executive producers Dan Grabiner and Nat Lipiette added: “The Vardies are an iconic and wonderfully funny family. This behind-the-scenes insight into their big moves shows us a side of them you’ve never seen before. Candid, unfiltered and totally unpredictable. Welcome to the Vardies party.”
