Coleen Rooney’s request for the disclosure of messages between Rebekah Vardy, her agent Caroline Watt and a journalist was granted by a High Court Judge at a preliminary hearing on Wednesday.

Rebekah, 39, is suing 35 year old Coleen for libel after Coleen accused Rebekah's Instagram account of "informing the press about her private online posts" in October 2019.

Rebekah strongly denies the allegations and both WAGs have shelled out thousands in the lengthy legal dispute.

The latest proceedings were held to cover issues around witness statements, disclosure of material and arrangements ahead of the trial, which is set to begin next month.

Mrs Justice Setyn said The Sun journalist Andrew Halls was the author of one of the “so-called sting articles” featuring in the libel dispute, concluding that disclosing communications in relation to the journalist is “necessary” and “proportionate”.

She told the court on Wednesday that while she has granted disclosure from News Group Newspapers, who own The Sun, in relation to Rebekah's communications this one journalist, she was “not persuaded” legal tests were met to allow disclosure in relation to a further eight journalists.

Coleen's lawyers previously claimed that Rebekah had leaked information to The Sun either directly or through her friend and agent Caroline “acting on her instruction or with her knowing approval”.

The court also heard that Rebekah's agent could not give oral evidence at the trial next month due to being in a “fragile state” of illness.

It comes after legal representatives for both women took part in a pre-trial hearing, which was to decide which evidence can be used in the libel trial, which is set to take place in May.

During the hearing, text messages between Rebekah and her former manager Caroline Watt were disclosed in court.

Rebekah’s lawyer Hugh Tomlinson QC has shared a series of WhatsApp messages she sent to her agent in a bid to "demonstrate beyond doubt that she was not responsible for leaking private information".

The libel case was filed by Jamie's wife after Coleen accused her Instagram account of leaking stories about her to the press.

At the time, she told fans that she had "blocked everyone from viewing my Instagram stories except ONE account," and then posted "a series of false stories" to see if they would make it into the newspapers – which she says they did.

She then revealed: "I have saved and screenshotted all the original stories which clearly show just one person has viewed them. It's……….Rebekah Vardy's account."

Coleen was dubbed "Wagatha Christie" for her investigative skills while Rebekah, who was expecting her fifth child at the time, denied the accusations and hit back: "I liked you a lot a Coleen and I'm so upset that you have chosen to do this, especially when I'm heavily pregnant."

In February, the case returned to High Court, where Rebekah’s lawyer, Hugh Tomlinson QC, shared a series of WhatsApp messages she sent to her agent Caroline in a bid to "demonstrate beyond doubt that she was not responsible for leaking private information".

One message Rebekah wrote to Caroline read: “Someone on her Instagram regularly sells stories on her. Bet it’s their PR again, has to be."

Rebekah also allegedly said "she’s a nasty b***h" and that Wayne Rooney's wife was "up her own a**e".

Meanwhile, Rebekah's barrister Hugh Tomlinson QC said of the "nasty b***h" comment: "That’s not right, this isn’t a passage about Mrs Rooney, this is a passage about someone else."

The hearing is about the evidence as the trial is due to start in May.

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