Vardy v Rooney: A Dramatic Review of the Courtroom — The ‘Wagatha Christie’ Case Makes for an Exciting Game Between Halfs

Good headlines are appreciated (journalism awards ceremonies have a category dedicated to them), and there will be countless sub-editors banging their heads on the table looking annoyed at not coming up with the headline. before.

Surely writer Chris Atkins and Cork-born director Oonagh Kearney, the men behind Channel 4’s new two-part drama about Vardy’s ill-fated defamation trial against Rooney, must have been It’s very tempting to write dialogue for the title.

Instead, they chose to be more sober Vardy v Rooney: A Courtroom Play, starting tomorrow and ending on Thursday night.

Saying it was written by Atkins is not entirely accurate. What he has achieved is more than a feat of expert editing, taking factual transcripts and witness statements from the trial and condensing them into two hours of entertainment over the course of the week. out in the courtroom.

without Peter (Crown) Morgan liberties are being exercised here. There are no invented dialogues or imagined confrontations for dramatic purposes.

Aside from a few setup shots and the occasional brief shot of Vardy (Natalia Tena) and Rooney (Chanel Cresswell) reading their testimony aloud in front of their respective legal counsel, it doesn’t go outside the courtroom or away. stray from recorded events.

Wayne Rooney (Dion Lloyd) was in the stands, so part of his testimony features. His former England team-mate Jamie Vardy (Marci Nagyszokolyai) chose not to, so he remains a literal silent partner.

Tena and Cresswell are both brilliant, perfectly portraying the nature of football players’ belligerent wives, and Michael Sheen (also one of the executive producers) as attorney David Sherborne So does Rooney’s.

The series is very fair, spending an hour on each side, but undeniably the first episode, which focuses on Vardy’s testimony, is by far the most engaging.

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Everyone watching knows how the trial plays out, so there’s hardly an element of suspense. What makes it a must-see — especially for those who don’t pore over every minute detail of the daily news coverage of the trial — is the astonishing level of vanity, arrogance, self-delusion and stupidity is shown.

From the moment Vardy opened her mouth in court, anyone with working ears can clearly understand that she will never win this case. She gave Coleen Rooney something that Rooney’s husband (or indeed her own) rarely enjoyed during his footballing career: a completely open goal.

As made clear in the unambiguous script, Vardy’s testimony was a disaster, easily torn to pieces by Sherborne, who combed through a checklist of leaks, lies, and evasions. her avoidance and excuses, culminating in an attempt to get rid of her former agent. Caroline Watt has been punished for revealing a fake story that Rooney posted on her Instagram account to trap Vardy.

He reminds her of how she publicly humiliated Peter Andre by telling the world – via Sun – that he was the “worst lover” she had ever had, whose masculinity was like “a little chip”.

There are humorous moments, such as when Sherborne, referring to the mystery of Watt’s cell phone ending up at the bottom of the North Sea, mentions Davy Jones’ locker. “Who is Davey Jones?” Vardy asked confused.

Given that Vardy emerges as such a nasty individual, the second part, somewhat strained to convince us that the outcome of the trial is indeed questionable, cannot hope to live up to the part. head. A game of two innings, but an incredibly fun game.

Rating: three stars

​Vardy V Rooney: A Courtroom Drama will air on Channel 4 tomorrow (Wednesday) at 9pm and end on Thursday at the same time