Mrs Justice Steyn handed down her judgment this afternoon on the case that has had legal, celeb and football fans on the edge of their seats. The case dubbed 'Wagatha Christie' by the press resulted from an allegation made by Colleen Rooney on Instagram that Rebekah Vardy had been leaking private information to newspapers. Vardy argued this was false and that the allegation had harmed her reputation. She sued for defamation in 2019, and today Mrs Justice Steyn has determined that Rooney's statement was 'substantially true'. 

Truth is the only one possible defence against defamation but you only need one to succeed to win the case. That being said, is there ever really a winner in a defamation case? With both parties' personal lives, motivations, and fashion sense debated in the press, on a dedicated podcast series, and in an upcoming two-part docudrama series commissioned by Channel 4, has either of the women's reputations been vindicated by this case? 

Defamation cases are expensive and even if you are successful in your claim or defence, often the drama surrounding the facts can do more harm than good.