Coleen Rooney reportedly wants to make a last-minute exit from her upcoming £1 million High Court libel battle against Rebekah Vardy, set to take place from November.
Sources claim those close to the wife of Derby County footballer Wayne Rooney, 34, have been encouraging her to settle their dispute privately, after her rival, 38, confirmed she is taking part in Dancing On Ice and has vowed to ‘clear her name’.
The pair have been at loggerheads ever since Coleen accused Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy’s wife of leaking stories about her to the media last October – a claim she fiercely denies.
Change of mind? Coleen Rooney (pictured on Tuesday) reportedly wants to make a last-minute exit from her upcoming £1 million libel battle against Rebekah Vardy
An insider told The Sun: ‘Things have gone much further than many had expected.
‘Coleen is a rather shy and private person, so the idea of having personal matters relating to her and Wayne raked over in court is something that fills her with dread.’
MailOnline has contacted representatives for Coleen and Rebekah for further comment.
The new claims came after I’m A Celebrity star Becky addressed their highly-publicised feud on Tuesday’s Good Morning Britain, when she also revealed she’s set to take to the rink and appear on next year’s edition of Dancing On Ice.
Standing her ground: The mother-of-four’s rival Becky, 38, confirmed she is taking part in Dancing On Ice on Tuesday and has vowed to ‘clear her name’ amid their bitter feud
The reality star said: ‘Look, we tried to sort things out amicably, it just didn’t work. I understand people think it’s ridiculous, but what was I meant to do? I need to clear my name.
‘I want to clear my name. I will do whatever that takes. I hope it’s going to be resolved soon. It’s just one of the things that has to go through the process unfortunately now.
‘I found it really tough. But to be fair Piers, in comparison to what some people have gone through with COVID and things like that, it’s incomparable.’
She added of her ITV stint: ‘I’m so ready for the sequins and the full glam squad. After months of lockdown it’ll be nice to get the glam on… I just think I want everyone to laugh at me really!
‘I will do whatever that takes’: The new claims came after I’m A Celebrity star Becky addressed their highly-publicised feud on Tuesday’s Good Morning Britain
Rink ready: The brunette revealed she is due to start training for next year’s Dancing On Ice ‘in a couple of weeks’
‘My dad taught me how to stand up on a pair of skates when I was about 7 years old, we used to go skating a lot when my mum and dad split up, we would go with him to the local ice rink.
‘I’m really excited actually. The only time I’ve been ice skating since is when we take our kids to the rink.’
Asked whether her husband Jamie, 33, is excited to see her compete on the show, she added: ‘He says he hopes I don’t fall over too much so I hope I don’t fall over too much!’
Rebekah added that she decided to sign up for the show as she wanted ‘everyone to laugh at her,’ and revealed she is due to start training ‘in a couple of weeks.’
The brunette explained: ‘I’m really looking forward to getting my teeth into that and get going with it. I’m going to give 100 per cent effort throughout. And I hopefully won’t knock my Shergar teeth out.’
According to The Mirror, Coleen and Rebekah will face off in November – just over one year after the former accused the latter of leaking stories about her.
Rebekah is seeking substantial damages in the subsequent libel trial, as she claims to have suffered ‘severe and extreme hostility and abuse’ in the fallout after the claims were published on Instagram.
It has since been claimed that Coleen wants to undertake ‘forensic analysis’ of Rebekah’s electronics to look for evidence, according to a report from The Sun.
A source speaking to the publication claimed: ‘Coleen met with her lawyers and they’ve told her they need to continue putting together more evidence.
‘She needs to prove that Becky was directly responsible for the leaks or, at the very least, that the information came from her social media account.
‘Coleen is adamant she is right, but in a legal setting the evidence she has may not be enough to cross the threshold.’
The full statement: Coleen’s very public feud began when she accused Rebekah of leaking stories to the press last year, a claim Rebekah vehemently denies
Making a case: The news comes as Rebekah is set to head-to-head with Coleen, after sources claimed their High Court battle is due to begin in a matter of weeks
Earlier this year, Coleen was also accused of leaking stories to the press by Rebekah after she told in a bombshell legal document how she had been left suicidal by the accusation that she had leaked stories about Coleen and her family.
She also claimed in the document drawn up for her libel battle against Coleen that the stress of the scandal had left her fearful of losing her unborn baby at the time and suffering panic attacks that made her too scared to leave her home.
The I’m A Celeb star complained of being made a ‘scapegoat’ by her rival seeking to blame her for stories appearing when in the past Coleen had approved of her friends leaking gossip about her.
The document says Rebekah believes she ‘has deliberately been made a scapegoat (sic) by the Defendant (Coleen) for past ‘leaked’ stories.’
It points to previous stories about Coleen and Wayne with some ‘in particular about their marriage, which have in fact come from the Defendant’s friends, at times even with the Defendant’s approval.’
The paper states that Sun journalist Dan Wootton had said on talkRADIO on October 19 last year that Coleen had ‘manipulated the media to tell stories about her own life’.
Wootton added that he had ‘written many, many stories’ about her marriage and ‘lots of other things around the Rooneys’ that had come directly from friends of Coleen including some told ‘with her (Coleen’s) approval’, says the document.
He went on to say on talkRADIO that nothing had ever come from ‘any of the Vardys’, it adds.
Still waiting: The mum-of-five’s bombshell demands comes after Wayne Rooney’s wife has so far failed to bring forward a defence to court (pictured with husband Jamie in 2018)
Rebekah describes in her document how Coleen’s public denunciation of her on Instagram while she was seven months pregnant had ‘gravely injured her reputation’.
Detailing how Coleen had ’caused her enormous distress and very extreme embarrassment’, she disclosed how she had been bombarded with abuse on social media.
Rebekah said that the widespread damage to her reputation was illustrated by research showing her name had become a more popular search term than ‘Brexit’ on Google in the UK on the day the scandal broke.
She also claimed that it led to her name appearing 276,822 times on Twitter on the same day, more than triple the number of mentions of Boris Johnson who had had his name published only 80,704 times.
Coleen made headlines around the world last October when she made her devastating claim that Rebekah had been leaking stories about her and her family to the Sun newspaper.
She released the statement: ‘It’s been tough keeping it to myself and not making any comment at all, especially when the stories have been leaked, however I had to. Now I know for certain which account / individual it’s come from.
‘I have saved and screenshotted all the original stories which clearly show just one person has viewed them. It’s ……………. Rebekah Vardy’s account.’
Rebekah immediately denied the claims and has since been fighting to clear her name and demands Coleen withdraw the claims against her.
Dancing On Ice 2021: Who are the celebrities?
MYLEENE KLASS
Age: 42
Profession: Musician and radio host
Myleene says: ‘My girls have always wanted me to do this but I’ve always been too scared someone will skate over my fingers!’
JASON DONOVAN
Age: 52
Profession: Actor and singer, best know for playing Scott Robinson in Neighbours
Jason says: ‘To be able to learn a skill and spend some time focused is quite exciting, and I’m looking forward to seeing you guys.’
FAYE BROOKES
Age: 33
Profession: Actress best known for her role as Kate Connor in Coronation Street
Faye says: ‘I’m so excited! The producers get to know you and this is the first time I think people are just going to see me, not being a character… Just being me – Faye!’
COLIN JACKSON
Age: 53
Profession: Former sprint and hurdling athlete, who has since carved out a career as a TV personality
Colin says: ‘You go out there, you enjoy yourself and you learn a new skill and to hone the skill of skating will just be a huge, huge plus. I’m looking forward to it.’
REBEKAH VARDY
Age: 38
Profession: TV personality
Rebekah says: ‘I’m really looking forward to getting my teeth into that. I’m going to give my 100% effort for it all.’
DENISE VAN OUTEN
Age: 46
Profession: Performer and presenter, best known for The Big Breakfast
Denise says: ‘I’m really excited. Finally, I get to tell people. I’ve kept this a secret from most of my friends and family. Betsy [her daughter] doesn’t even know….’
SONNY JAY
Age: 27
Profession: Singer and radio presenter, best known for his daily Breakfast Show on Capital Radio
Sonny says: ‘I don’t want to fall over, not in front of the nation. I don’t want to be a meme the next day!’
JOE-WARREN PLANT
Age: 18
Profession: Actor best known for his role as Jacob Gallagher in Emmerdale
Joe-Warren says: ‘I’m super excited. I’m glad I have the time off Emmerdale to really focus on training…’
GRAHAM BELL
Age: 54
Profession: Former Olympic skier, who is also a TV presenter, adventurer and journalist
Graham says: ‘Ice doesn’t scare me, it’s the dancing… [My experience was confined to] ‘dancing on tables, wearing ski boots in après ski. It’s not graceful and elegant!’
