Rebekah Vardy claims Jamie 'plays better' when she and I'm a Celeb's Coleen go to battle

Rebekah Vardy has spoken out in a lengthy interview as Coleen Rooney prepares for the popular I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, which starts on Sunday on ITV

Rebekah Vardy insists her footballer husband Jamie plays better when she is feuding with rival Coleen Rooney.

The media personality, who has been married to the Leicester City legend for eight years, has appeared to have reignited her famous feud with her former pal. She is reportedly hatching a "revenge plot" against Coleen, 38, who is preparing for her stint on I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, which starts on Sunday on ITV.

It is this decision which has brought the WAGs's clash to the fore again - with Rebekah, 42, accusing Coleen of hypocrisy for going on the programme after the Scouse mum's legal team in the famous libel case allegedly mocked Rebekah's reality TV past. Rebekah lost the case in 2022 and faced a massive legal bill.

But Rebekah said reports that Jamie, 37, became angry amid this conflict, and further spats since are off the mark. The media personality, born in Norwich, said today: "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."

Indeed, Jamie has already scored four times for Leicester City this season, including two in two games last month when talk about the I'm a Celebrity line-up first surfaced. The Foxes have had steady start to the campaign, and are three points above the relegation zone despite pundits tipping them for the drop early on.

And with Jamie impressing, Rebekah says she is confident she will continue to tease Coleen, who is set to face infamous bushtucker trials in the jungle from Sunday. The mum of five has even ordered ITV to make her a late entry - so she can confront her foe.

But the media personality, who herself was on I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! in 2017, insists she would consider a reconciliation with Coleen, who married former Manchester United star Wayne in 2008 when she was 22.

"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... Let bygones be bygones. You can’t hold grudges forever," Rebekah told The Sun.

Rebekah's amendments reflect the strain she and Coleen have faced in the years since. The highly publicised libel case was dubbed the "Wagatha Christie" trial in the press. The court in London sided with Coleen and Rebekah was ordered to pay a substantial proportion of Coleen's legal expenses, which, together with her own legal costs, were estimated to total £3 million.