I hope Coleen’s forced to eat bull’s penis & humble pie, says Rebekah Vardy

REBEKAH Vardy today joins The Sun as our I’m A Celebrity columnist — and reignites her famous feud with her former pal, jungle contestant Coleen Rooney.

On October 9, 2019, Coleen posted an incendiary tweet accusing her friend-turned-foe Rebekah of being a “leak” behind media stories.

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Five years on, there remains no love lost between the pair — with Coleen’s decision to appear on the ITV jungle show bringing their clash to the fore once again.

Today, the 42-year-old wife of Leicester City striker Jamie tells me she is looking forward to watching Coleen chomp down on some jungle nasties.

Asked if there is anything particular, such as bull’s privates, ostrich bum or goat’s brains, Becky deadpans: “Yeah, penis. Or humble pie.”

And would, say, a camel testicle be the worst thing Coleen’s ever had in her mouth? “I don’t know. You have to look at her husband for that one,” she replies.

On the night of our interview, Becky and Jamie jetted off to Dubai for a break. But she will be tuning in via her laptop to see Sunday night’s first episode.

She laughs: “Absolutely, we’ll be watching avidly. Everyone seems to think I have this massive problem with Coleen going into the jungle.

“But do you know what? If you want to fan the fire, the flames are going to get higher.

“I wasn’t going to carry on talking about this, I had no intention of talking about it, but she clearly can’t let it go.

“I mean, we’ve done a book, we’ve done a documentary, we’re going into the jungle. What’s next — Dancing On Ice?

“She’s following in my footsteps. I think she always wanted my life.”

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Becky was on the ITV ice skating show back in 2021.

And during her own stint on I’m A Celeb in 2017, she did trials including the Bushtucker eating challenge, which saw her feasting on sheep anus, fermented egg,  emu foot, vomit fruit and a bull’s penis.

Presumably, she will be calling the ITV hotline on repeat, praying poor Coleen will be forced to eat similar nasties.

Becky quips: “If it’s going to cost me any more money to see her do a trial, absolutely not.

“I’ll only be registering to vote on the free ones, thanks very much.”

One hundred per cent, I’d say yes if they asked me. Get me on the plane now.

Rebekah Vardy

When I mention that Coleen came across as very likeable, kind and relatable in her pre-show piece to camera, Becky shrugs.

Poking the bear, I add ex-England star Wayne’s long-suffering wife is also bookies’ favourite to win. It works. Off she goes again.

“Fine, if people want to go and celebrate Coleen as some sort of hero, then they need to remember the abuse I suffered off the back of something that wasn’t for public consumption,” Becky retorts.

“It wasn’t in the public’s interest to do that (the tweet). I just wish she’d have just turned up at my doorstep, or picked the phone up and had that conversation with me, woman to woman.

“But she wanted to do it publicly. So if she wants to go on about the stress induced arthritis, she’s only got herself to blame — she shouldn’t have done it in the first place.”

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And is Coleen as sweet as she seems? Not according to the woman who’s become so intrinsically linked with her over the past few years.

“Everything Coleen does is quite calculated,” she says. “I don’t say this to be nasty, I say this because it’s an opinion of mine. She likes to be the victim.

“She’s been in this industry for a long time, she knows what she’s doing, she knows how to play the game. I think she’ll go into the jungle with a game plan.

“She knows how the public will perceive her. I think the public see her as a victim — a hard-working woman that’s endured a lot through a man’s infidelities and all of the stuff that he’s put her through.”

Her legal team stood up in court and said, ‘She’s such a private individual’, and now this so-called private individual is going on one of the biggest reality TV shows in the UK. I mean, it’s ironic really.

Rebekah Vardy

On the subject of Wayne — who trudged into the High Court daily to be by his wife’s side — Becky doesn’t hold back. “The best bit to come from Wayne’s evidence was him being likened to a ‘hot potato’.

“I wonder if you cut him open, if he’s all cheese and beans — because he’s defo full of s***!”

Sitting across from me, Becky is clearly incredulous about her rival’s decision to sign up for the jungle.

It comes after Coleen’s defence team tore strips off Becky for her career choices during their much publicised High Court libel row over that  tweet.

Becky said: “Coleen’s legal team were very dismissive about my reality TV past. They mocked it.

“So for her to be doing the jungle now, it’s hypocrisy at its finest, isn’t it? I think there was always a plan for reinvention. She stayed out of the public eye for so long.

“There were so many stories, negative stories, about Wayne. And I think she wanted to turn things around for herself.

“We’ve gone from a person about whom her legal team stood up in court and said, ‘She’s such a private individual’, and now this so-called private individual is going on one of the biggest reality TV shows in the UK. I mean, it’s ironic really.”

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Five years ago, Coleen posted a long rant on social media accusing Becky of leaking stories to The Sun — something Becky always denied.
The resulting “Wagatha Christie” defamation case — brought by Becky — lasted for two-and-a-half months, with a judge deciding Coleen’s defence   was “substantially true”.

Three years on, Becky remains defiant and says: “After the court gave the judgement, I put out a statement that the judge got it wrong — and I stand by that. The judge did get it wrong, and I didn’t do what Coleen accused me of.”

Bitter feud

Becky insists there are no “hard feelings”, but it is clear she is still utterly fuming about the whole episode.

Or, more precisely, the aftermath — which saw her horrifically trolled while seven months pregnant, and led to her having cognitive behavioural therapy.

For her part, Coleen recently spoke out about the extreme toll the case took on her mentally. She even claimed her reactive arthritis has been triggered by it.

Becky is also seething about a recent podcast featuring Coleen, on which she made a thinly-veiled dig at her former pal.

Coleen said: “Most people can’t be happy in their own lives because they are attacking other people’s lives. I couldn’t imagine doing that to anyone. You’ve got to be a nasty piece of work.”

Becky’s take? “I just find it ironic you can sit there and say that, knowing what you’ve put someone through. The truth of the matter is, she did do that. She did exactly what she was talking about.

“I think there was a deep-rooted unhappiness, a lot of misdirected anger, with what was going on with Wayne at the time. And, you know, unfortunately for me, I was in the crossfire of that.”

On  her own marriage, she said: “Everyone thinks Jamie is mad at me for speaking out, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

“He’s encouraging me, saying, ‘Give it to her, get the truth out there’.

“He loves it that she’s back getting headlines. The more stick he gets from the stands in football, the better he plays.”

And on the future, Becky said: “Let bygones be bygones. You can’t hold grudges forever.

“Two years ago, I suggested we meet for a coffee at Caffè Nero — and that offer still stands. Perhaps now it might need to be over a lot of wine, though.

“But if people really want us to meet up before that, then ITV should get me in that jungle as a special guest.

“What are they scared of? Confrontation? But isn’t that what the show’s all about? It’s about viewing figures.

“One hundred per cent, I’d say yes if they asked me. Get me on the plane now.”

Over to you, ITV.

I’m A Celebrity 2024

As the hit ITV show enters into its 24th series, a brand new batch of famous faces look set to enter the Aussie jungle once again to face terrifying Bushtucker Trials and living amongst the critters in camp in order to come out on top and be crowned King or Queen of the Jungle. The Sun’s Jake Penkethman takes a look at the stars heading Down Under this year…

Coleen Rooney – Arguably the most famous name heading into the camp, the leading WAG, known for her marriage to Wayne Rooney, will be making a grand return to TV as she looks to put the Wagatha Christie scandal behind her. The Sun revealed the mum-of-four had bagged an eye-watering deal worth over £1.5million to head into the camp this year making her the highest-paid contestant ever.

Tulisa – The popstar and former X Factor judge looks set to be making a triumphant TV comeback by signing up to this year’s I’m A Celeb after shunning TV shows for many years. Known for being a member of the trio, N-Dubz, Tulisa became a household name back in 2011 when she signed on to replace Cheryl on ITV show The X Factor in a multi-million pound deal.

Alan Halsall – The actor, known for playing the long-running role of Tyrone Dobbs on ITV soap opera Coronation Street, was originally signed up to head Down Under last year but an operation threw his scheduled appearance off-course. Now he will be hoping to become the latest Corrie star to win over both the viewers and his fellow celebrities when he gets into camp.

Melvin Odoom – The Radio DJ has become a regular face on TV screens after rising to fame with presenting roles on Kiss FM, BBC Radio 1 and 4Music. He has already been for a spin on the Strictly dancefloor and co-hosted The Xtra Factor with Rochelle Humes in 2015 but now he is facing up to his biggest challenge yet – the Aussie jungle.

GK Barry – The UK’s biggest social media personality, GK, whose real name is Grace Keeling, has transformed her TikTok stardom into a lucrative career. Aside from her popular social media channels, she hosts the weekly podcast, Saving Grace, and regularly appears on ITV talk show, Loose Women. She has even gone on to endorse popular brand such as PrettyLittleThing, KFC and Ann Summers.

Dean McCullough – A rising star amongst this year’s bunch of celebs, Dean first achieved notability through his radio appearances on Gaydio and BBC Radio 1. He was chosen to join the BBC station permanently in 2021 and has featured prominently ever since. He has enjoyed a crossover to ITV over the past year thanks to his guest slots on Big Brother spin-off show, Late & Live.

Oti Mabuse – The pro dancer has signed up to her latest TV show after making her way through the biggest programmes on the box. She origianlly found fame on Strictly Come Dancing but has since branched out into the world of TV judging with appearances on former BBC show The Greatest Dancer as well as her current role on ITV’s Dancing On Ice.

Danny Jones – The McFly star was drafted into the programme last minute as a replacement for Tommy Fury. Danny is the second member of McFly to enter the jungle, after Dougie Poynter won the show in 2011. He is also considered a rising star on ITV as he’s now one of the mentors on their Saturday night talent show, The Voice, along with bandmate Tom. A jungle insider said: “As well as bringing some of the star appeal of the group with him, he’ll be supplying some serious guy candy for the campmates and viewers at home.”

Maura Higgins – The Irish TV beauty first found fame on Love Island where she found a brief connection with dancer Curtis Pritchard. Since then, she has competed on Dancing On Ice as well as hosting the Irish version of the beauty contest, Glow Up. Since last year, she has been working on building up her career in the US by being the social media correspondent and host of Aftersun to accompany Love Island USA. She even guest hosted an episode of the spin-off, Love Island Games, in place of Maya Jama last year.

Jane Moore – The Loose Women star and The Sun columnist will be braving the creepy crawlies this year. The star is ready for a new challenge – having recently split from her husband. It will be Jane’s first foray into reality TV with the telly favourite having always said no to reality shows in the past.

Barry McGuigan – Former pro boxer Barry will become the latest fighting champ to head Down Under following in the footsteps of Tony Bellew and Amir Khan. It comes after a tough few years for Irish star Barry, who lost his daughter Danika to breast cancer. He told The Late Late Show in 2021: “She was such an intrinsic part of the family that every day we ache.”

Rev. Richard Coles – Former BBC radio host the Rev Richard Coles is set for I’m A Celebrity — and is ready to let rip at his old employer. The former Communards and Strictly star, 62, said the BBC did not know its a**e from its elbow last year.An insider said: “Rev Coles will have a variety of tales to tell from his wild days as a pop star in the Eighties, through to performing on Strictly and his later life as a man of the cloth.”