Who came up with Wagatha Christie? Dan Atkinson comment explained as Rebekah Vardy trademarks phrase

Rebakah Vardy has secured the rights to trademark the famous phrase “Wagatha Christie.” The ruling means that anyone wishing to use the phrase commercially would first need to get permission from Vardy to use it and pay her if she allows it.

The trademark is believed to cover everything from broadcasting and clothing to cosmetics and drinks.

The phrase Wagatha Christie first rose to prominence in 2019, when Vardy became embroiled in a legal dispute with Coleen Rooney.

Their row was over whether Vardy’s account was used in selling stories about the Rooney’s to the press soon escalated to the High Court and it was dubbed by news outlets as the “Wagatha Christie” case.

But who originally came up with the phrase Wagatha Christie?

Here is everything you need to know.

Who created the phrase Wagatha Christie?

Wagatha Christie went viral for the first time on Wednesday 9 October 2019 when comedian Dan Atkinson tweeted the four words: “Coleen Rooney: Wagagtha Christie”

The post was used to describe the feud between Coleen Rooney, wife of former Manchester United footballer Wayne Rooney, and Rebekah Vardy, who is married to Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy.

Wagatha Christie is made up of two separate terms:

• WAG is an acronym for “Wives And Girlfriends” and is a term used to describe the wives and girlfriends of professional footballers 
• The rest of the phrase is used to draw comparisons to the famous crime novelist Agatha Christie

The post by Atkinson has since been retweeted by 3,197 accounts and it has been liked by over 21,000 Twitter users.

The comedian has since described the pun as his legacy.

He said: “The phrase entered the mainstream. It became downright ubiquitous; if you Google the words you get around 60 million impressions. Credible newspapers use the word “Wagatha” as if it’s a normal part of day-to-day English rather than a piece of nonsense I dumped on Twitter while waiting for a coffee to brew.”

What happened in the Wagatha Christie trial?

The social media drama between Vardy and Rooney led to a high profile libel trial and Vardy was eventually forced to pay 90% of Rooney’s legal costs - which were rumoured to reach around £1.5 million.

Intellectual property experts believe Vardy will now use the “Wagatha Christie” brand to cash in. It is believed she could demand a fee from anyone using the term.

Tim Carter, managing associate in Addelshaw Goddard’s Intellectual Property team, said: “I think it would be fair to say that Rebekah Vardy could make a substantial amount of money from this trademark.

“The potential for commercial exploitation of the trade mark is likely substantial considering the continued interest in this case. The potential income from licensing the use of the trademark could run into the hundreds of thousands of pounds.”

After learning about Vardy’s trademark, Atkinson tweeted: “Well this isn’t ideal, is it?”