3 weeks ago
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Coleen and Wayne Rooney weren’t talking to one another after a row, so when the camera crew filming a new show about them arrived at the couple’s Cheshire home, they expected to be stood down. But Coleen had other ideas.
‘We could easily have said, “We’re not filming today,” but it was in my diary that we were and I wasn’t prepared to take a day out to reschedule,’ she says. ‘So we went ahead.
'It was a bit frosty between Wayne and me but we’d always intended the series to be as honest as possible. That’s why it’s called The Real Rooneys.’
The ten-part warts-and-all series follows the couple and their four sons – Kai, Klay, Kit and Cass – for a year, during which former Manchester United and England star Wayne comes to terms with life beyond football management.
There’s success for Kai, 16, when he lands a scholarship with Man Utd, although a training ground injury threatens to derail his career.
But Wayne, fired from his job managing Plymouth Argyle early in the series, faces the challenges of TV punditry.
The ten-part warts-and-all series, The Real Rooneys, follows Coleen and Wayne Rooney and their four sons – Kai, Klay, Kit and Cass – for a year
Of the arguments between the Liverpudlian couple, who’ve been together since they were 16, Wayne says, ‘We could have made it all look perfect but you see that too much on social media'
‘You see me alongside Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker on Match of the Day, and realising I was nowhere near their level,’ says Wayne, who won 120 caps for England and played 559 times for Man Utd. ‘I’d go home knowing I had to improve – and doing my best to do so.’
Coleen enjoys more professional success than Wayne. The woman who became known as Wagatha Christie after her infamous Instagram sting on Rebekah Vardy and subsequent court victory, is asked to design a clothes collection for Primark in episode one. Later in the series she launches her first range.
She also makes her acting debut in a TV ad for gambling firm Paddy Power alongside Danny Dyer, fighting serious on-set nerves to play a Wagatha Christie-style sleuth in a casino.
Coleen visits Poland to make a film about disabled children for UNICEF, too. She talks about the death of her sister Rosie from a genetic disorder aged just 14. ‘She was fostered by my parents when she was two,’ says Coleen. ‘I loved her so much and losing her was incredibly hard.’
Lavish trips away during the series are a reminder the Rooneys aren’t your average family. There’s a weekend in the Cotswolds to mark Wayne’s 40th birthday which they travel to by helicopter, a break in Portugal to celebrate Kai’s Man Utd scholarship and a romantic trip to Scotland as Wayne and Coleen attempt to ease tensions in their relationship.
‘One of the reasons for doing the series was to show the real me, a guy who likes to joke around and have fun,’ says Wayne. ‘I feel a bit more comfortable in the public eye now, though I still struggle with being recognised when I’m out with my family.
Kai, 16, celebrates landing a Man Utd scholarship with his father. However, during the series a training ground injury threatens to derail his career
Coleen is asked to design a clothes collection for Primark in episode one and later in the series she launches her first range
'A few weeks ago I took one of my sons to a football tournament and had to leave because it was getting too much.’
As for the arguments between Liverpudlians Wayne and Coleen, who’ve been together since they were 16, he says, ‘We could have made it all look perfect but you see that too much on social media.
‘Marriage isn’t always plain sailing. But when you watch the show you can see Coleen and I love each other, even though we have tough moments. And you can see we’re part of a good family, a caring family.’
The Real Rooneys, from Thursday, Disney+.
English (US) ·