Rebekah Vardy and her footballer husband Jamie appeared very excited about their six-star sunshine break to Dubai yesterday – just as rival Coleen Rooney enters the less-than glamorous Jungle.
The pair were pictured giggling in matching beige tracksuits as they pushed their £3,300 Dior hand luggage and five large Rimowa suitcases – worth £1,300 each – to the VIP lounge in Stansted Airport ahead of their first-class Emirates flight.
Some might speculate that Rebekah is jetting off to escape the limelight. After all, this weekend will see the debut of her mortal enemy Coleen Rooney on the new season of I’m A Celebrity.
Rebekah and Jamie Vardy at Stansted Airport yesterday before they jetted out for a sunshine break in Dubai – where they usually stay in a £10,000-a-night resort on Jumeirah Beach
Coleen Rooney is being paid £1.5million to be on I’m A Celebrity – dwarfing the £100,000 ITV paid to Rebekah to be on the show in 2017, when she was the third contestant to be eliminated
The two Wags have been bitter rivals ever since Rebekah, 42, unsuccessfully sued Coleen in 2022 for accusing her of leaking stories about her family to tabloids after setting an ingenious trap on Instagram.
Rebekah still maintains her innocence, however, while Coleen, 38, remains furious that more than three years of her life were blighted by the ‘Wagatha Christie’ legal battle, as it became known.
But I can reveal that, far from lying low in Dubai, Rebekah is in fact plotting her next move to stir things up with Coleen.
Rebekah herself is an I’m A Celeb alumna, having appeared on the show in 2017 (she was the third contestant to be eliminated). She was reportedly paid around £100,000 – a smidgen of the rumoured £1.5million Coleen is set to rake in, the most ever paid in the show’s history.
But far from being jealous of Coleen’s I’m A Celeb payday, Rebekah is ready to make the most of her nemesis’ time in the jungle. One friend of Rebekah tells me: ‘The holiday came along at quite a fortuitous time. Jamie has a weekend off playing for Leicester as there is an international break so they thought they’d escape for some sun.
‘But it isn’t lost on Becky that she will be sipping her champagne while Coleen will be eating witchetty grubs. Becky thinks it’s hilarious and of course she will be tuning into the show.
‘She’ll watch from a hotel suite that Coleen would be so envious of while she is slumming it on I’m A Celeb – and Rebekah will be showing everyone.’
Sources tell me that they expect Rebekah to post a ‘deluge’ of Instagram photos showing off her luxurious holiday, as Coleen endures the show’s infamous bushtucker trials.
‘It never ceases to amaze those around Becky that she has still got the appetite to wind Coleen up. And let’s face it, the best opportunity has come up, you can’t help thinking that Becky has currently had the last laugh here,’ an insider tells me.
‘Becky is on the outside, she can stick two fingers up at Coleen. Far from being horrified about losing the High Court case, she is once again cleverly finding a way to use Coleen’s appearance to her own gain. Becky hasn’t forgotten all of this and she never will.’
There have even been rumours circulating that the show’s bosses are secretly planning for Rebekah to join the I’m A Celeb line-up again this year as a late arrival. The Vardys’ trip has only added to the wild speculation, given that Dubai is halfway between Britain and Australia. But ITV chiefs have insisted they would not do anything to threaten Coleen’s appearance.
‘Nobody at ITV knows where those rumours have come from,’ a source at the broadcaster says. ‘ITV is firmly in Coleen’s camp. They love her and can’t believe their luck that she has agreed to take part, so there is no question of Becky joining in. Coleen would probably quit on the spot, which would be a nightmare for them. There is a suspicion that those rumours may have begun somewhere close to Becky.’
Friends say ‘ITV is firmly in Coleen’s camp’, buying the rights to Disney’s Coleen Rooney: The Real Wagatha Story, a dramatised version of the 2022 libel battle between the two women
Rebecca endured Bushtucker Trials on the show in 2017 – ‘but it isn’t lost on Becky that she will be sipping her champagne while Coleen will be eating witchetty grubs’, says a friend
However, Rebekah’s reported glee at the prospect of Coleen’s suffering in the jungle may not last long. For ITV has just bought the rights to the Disney+ documentary Coleen Rooney: The Real Wagatha Story, a dramatised version of the libel trial told from Coleen’s perspective.
In April last year, Rebekah trademarked the phrase ‘Wagatha Christie’ to cover everything from broadcasting to beauty lotions and beverages, as well as stationery, jewellery and fashion.
One source close to Rebekah said: ‘Now it feels like ITV are just rubbing Becky’s nose in it. As well as Coleen being in the jungle where she is almost certainly going to talk about the whole episode, it will be available to watch at any time on the channel’s streaming platform and the bosses are expecting big viewing figures. It’s like ITV has gone all “Brand Rooney”.’
And though the Vardys are set for a few days of pampering at one of Dubai’s finest hotels (they usually stay at a £10,000-a-night resort on Jumeirah Beach) there are still some close to them who are appalled at Coleen’s decision to reopen the wounds by appearing on I’m A Celeb.
‘While Becky is tough as old boots there were lots of people on the periphery of scenario who had a terrible time,’ said one source close to the Vardys.
‘It took its toll of family members, friends and work colleagues – who are not jetting off to Dubai at this time – so hopefully Rebekah will remember that while she is smugly sipping on her holiday cocktails.’
I’M A CELEBRITY 2024: MEET THE ALL STAR LINE UP
OTI MABUSE
Oti Mabuse has already two Strictly glitterballs under her belt
AGE: 34
OCCUPATION: Professional dancer
FAMOUS FOR: Oti is best known for being a professional dancer on the British television series Strictly Come Dancing, which she won in 2019 and 2020.
DANNY JONES
Danny Jones is one of the bookies’ favourites to win this year’s I’m A Celeb
AGE: 38
OCCUPATION: McFly singer
FAMOUS FOR: Danny is one of the lead vocalists and the lead guitarist for pop-rock band McFly.
He is also a coach on The Voice UK.
BARRY MCGUIGAN
Former boxer Barry McGuigan is heading into the jungle
AGE: 63
OCCUPATION: Retired professional boxer
FAMOUS FOR: Barry was nicknamed The Clones Cyclone and held the WBA and lineal featherweight titles from 1985 to 1986.
GK BARRY
GK Barry is a TikTok star who recently joined the ITV family on Loose Women
AGE: 25
OCCUPATION: TikTok star
FAMOUS FOR: Grace is known for her comedic commentary on culture, lifestyle, and fashion. She has over 3.6 million followers and recently joined the Loose Women panel.
DEAN MCCULLOUGH
ITV bosses are hoping Dean McCullough will ruffle feathers in the camp
AGE: 32
OCCUPATION: Radio 1 DJ
FAMOUS FOR: Radio 1 DJ Dean has been signed by I’m A Celeb bosses, in the hope that he will ruffle feathers with his outspoken views.
Earlier this year it was announced Dean would be taking over the BBC Radio 1 Early Breakfast Show, after previously fronting the afternoon slot.
JANE MOORE
Jane is best known as a panellist and anchor of Loose Women
AGE: 62
OCCUPATION: Journalist
FAMOUS FOR: Jane is best known as a panellist and anchor of Loose Women between 1999 and 2002.
She returned as a regular panellist from 2013 onwards.
Jane takes on the challenge following her high-profile split from husband of 20 years, Showbiz agent, Gary Farrow.
MELVIN ODOOM
Melvin was previously courted by I’m A Celeb bosses back in 2021
AGE: 44
OCCUPATION: DJ and TV presenter
FAMOUS FOR: His work on radio. Melvin was previously courted by I’m A Celeb bosses back in 2021, but turned down the offer at the last minute.
He also had a primetime stint on Strictly back in 2016.
COLEEN ROONEY
Reports claim that she has been offered the biggest deal in the show’s history
AGE: 38
OCCUPATION: WAG
FAMOUS FOR: Wagatha Christie case against arch rival Rebekah Vardy.
Reports claim that she has been offered the biggest deal in the show’s history, exceeding Nigel Farage’s £1.5million from last year.
ALAN HALSALL
Alan Halsall is best known for his role as Tyrone Dobbs on Coronation Street
AGE: 42
OCCUPATION: Actor
FAMOUS FOR: Coronation Street actor Alan Halsall was forced to withdraw from I’m A Celeb last year, after undergoing ACL Reconstruction surgery.
Bosses have now convinced the actor to sign up again, and no doubt he will draw in a huge fanbase thanks to his long-running role as Tyrone Dobbs on the soap.
TULISA
Tulisa is making her career comeback after reuniting with N-Dubz last year
AGE: 36
OCCUPATION: Singer and former X Factor judge
FAMOUS FOR: Tulisa reunited with N-Dubz last year for a tour after first finding fame with the band in 2007.
In 2011, she became a judge on The X Factor and went on to launch her debut solo album, The Female Boss.
She released her fourth album with N-Dubz last year.