‘Who is Davy Jones?’: Wagatha Christie trial judge forced to explain phrase to Rebekah Vardy
Barrister used figure of speech during discussion of how evidence in libel trial was dropped in sea
The first epuisode of Channel 4’s new two-part documentary drama about the notorious legal battle between footballers’ wives Coleen Rooney and Rebekah Vardy airs on Wednesday evening.
Vardy v Rooney: A Courtroom Drama stars Natalia Tena and Chanel Cresswell in the title roles and the acclaimed Michael Sheen as barrister David Sherborne.
The film is said to be based on transcripts of the proceedings that unfolded in London’s High Court earlier this year and promises to deliver a thrilling account of a case that gripped the nation and became known as the “Wagatha Christie” trial.
One of the most celebrated moments in the libel trial of the decade came when a High Court judge found herself forced to explain what “Davy Jones’ locker” meant to Ms Vardy.
Mr Sherborne, representing the wife of former England captain Wayne Rooney, referred to a phone that had fallen into the North Sea shortly after a judge ordered its search during his cross-examination of Ms Vardy.
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The High Court heard how some WhatsApp messages sent by Ms Vardy’s agent were not part of the libel claim because of this.
Mr Sherborne said agent Caroline Watt was “filming the coastline” while on a boat trip in Scotland and dropped her phone, leaving her “unable to retrieve it”.
He told the court it was a “shame” that messages between journalists – who had allegedly been leaked stories – and Ms Watt were “lying at the bottom of the sea in Davy Jones’ locker”.
Ms Vardy replied: “Who is Davy Jones?” The comment was met with sniggering in the courtroom.
Ms Justice Steyn then told her the reference was a figure of speech that “just means the bottom of the sea”.
Mr Sherborne later noted four months passed between Ms Watt losing her phone and Ms Rooney’s solicitors being informed.
Ms Vardy, who is married to Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy, said she did not know why there was a delay.
Mr Sherborne has repeatedly noted that disclosure linked to Mr Vardy in the legal dispute had been hit by “a series of unfortunate events”.
Ms Vardy told the court some messages were deleted from WhatsApp as she tried to export them.
Mr Sherborne said: “You say that as a result of that process, all of the messages on your phone, all the WhatsApp messages on your phone between you and Ms Watt, were deleted, were lost.
“You know that your expert has described that as somewhat surprising and our expert indicates that someone has manually deleted them from the phone.
“No-one has said to you that Mrs Rooney’s expert says that there is no possible explanation for how that happened in any other way than someone manually – a human – deleting those messages on the phone?”
The TV personality repeatedly denied deleting messages.
Ms Vardy later said she “can neither confirm nor deny” what happened, suggesting she may have switched phones during a nine-month period where there are missing messages.
The 40-year-old has taken Ms Rooney to court after receiving the blame for leaking passing information about Ms Rooney’s private life to the The Sun.
The allegations were made in an explosive post in which Ms Rooney detailed an elaborate scheme to work out where the leaks from Instagram were coming from, concluding: “It’s...... Rebekah Vardy’s account.”
Ms Vardy denies the allegations and is suing her fellow footballer’s wife for libel.
Ms Rooney earned the nickname “Wagatha Christie” after detailing an elaborate scheme to work out where the leaks from Instagram were coming from.
Additioinal reporting by agencies