[imagesource: The Telegraph]

We have entered a new phase in reality television.

Sure, you can watch somebody remodel a home, survive in the wild for two weeks on their own, or be shouted at by Gordon Ramsay, but inside the courtroom is where the real action is at.

Take for example the current Wagatha Christie libel case featuring Rebekah Vardy, the wife of former England and current Leicester City footballer Jamie Vardy, and Coleen Rooney, the wife of Wayne.

Forking out legal fees is always a bit of a bother, so go ahead and sell the rights to Netflix and cover your costs. The Daily Mail reports that the Rooneys “were followed by a film crew while doing a ‘staged walk’ after the first day of the Wagatha Christie libel showdown” yesterday.

Coleen has reportedly signed up for a Netflix documentary, you see. According to an onlooker, getting the right shots outside the court took a little work:

 ‘When Coleen and Wayne came out of court they didn’t get into a car like everyone else does, they walked across the road and down an alleyway.

‘That’s where they all congregated and started laughing and chatting – which was interesting to see after a serious day in court.

‘Then a producer set up a camera on a tripod and started staging them walking up and down the road – it was almost like scripted reality.’

Not to be outdone, Rebekah is reportedly set to be interviewed by Piers Morgan on his new show, Uncensored, and could receive a sizeable sum for that appearance.

Why didn’t Johnny Depp think of this? He could have covered the legal costs of his ongoing libel case against Amber Heard if he let a few cameras follow him around.

Meanwhile, Kim Kardashian is studying to become a lawyer and passed California’s First-Year Law Students’ Examination in December of last year.

You can bet she’ll be maximising the reality TV angle if she ever cracks the full qualifications.

Perhaps the rise and rise of true-crime series and documentaries are partly to blame for our obsession with these sorts of stories. You can also point to the 24-hour coverage of the Oscar Pistorius trial as a possible starting point, or the OJ Simpson trial two decades earlier.

Either way, reality TV courtroom drama is here to stay.

A quick summary of what transpired in yesterday’s Wagatha Christie case before we go, via The Guardian:

Rebekah Vardy has confirmed she attempted to leak a story about the arrest of drink-driving Premier League footballer Danny Drinkwater to a journalist at the Sun – but insisted it was a one-off.

As part of the continuing “Wagatha Christie” libel trial, the footballer’s wife said she sent the information on Drinkwater’s night in the cells to her agent Caroline Watt, along with a WhatsApp message that said: “I want paying for this x.”

She did the exact same thing she’s accused of doing to Coleen, but don’t worry, it was just a one-off.

When it emerged that The Sun had already heard about the drink-driving arrest, Rebekah said to Watt that she was “fuming I didn’t give it to you earlier”.

She was also accused of leaking a story about husband Jamie’s teammate, Riyad Mahrez, to the media. She said she was worried about it being linked to her, but encouraged Watt to contact Sky Sports.

Watt’s phone would have been searched for evidence, but it fell overboard during a boat ride off the Scottish coast.

It’s fair to say Rebekah and her team may be off to a rocky start.

[sources:dmail&guardian]