Coleen Rooney was already considered a national treasure after her Wagatha court showdown with nemesis Rebekah Vardy in 2022. Now, her raved-about appearance on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! has seen her popularity skyrocket to even greater heights, with countless viewers praising her humble nature and kindness and calling her husband Wayne an ‘extremely lucky man’.
But it isn’t just fans of the popular ITV show who have heaped praise onto the 38-year-old mum of four, as Coleen’s jungle campmate Jane Moore, as well as Ruth Langsford, have called for her to join them on the Loose Women panel.
And while that’s just the first of many offers sure to be flooding into Coleen’s inbox, we’re told Wayne is feeling a little fearful about his wife’s new post-jungle life back in the spotlight.
A source close to Coleen – who also shared a camp with another Loose Women panellist, GK Barry – tells heat, ‘After winning over the public and her campmates in the jungle, Coleen is in high demand. Jane is leading the campaign to get her to become a Loose Woman.
'She knows that Coleen would be TV gold on that panel, as she has a lot of strong opinions and life experience to back them up. She thinks Col will slot in great. Ruth has also spoken about Coleen joining then and will no doubt be speaking to the show’s producers. Coleen’s not really sure about what to do next, but she’ll be weighing up her options carefully.’
Ruth, 64 – who flew out to Australia to support her Loose Women colleague and close pal Jane, 62 – admitted she would ‘love to have Coleen’ on the daytime show.
‘It would be absolutely fantastic,’ she gushed. ‘On Loose Women, we share our lives, warts and all. So, actually, the fact that we don’t know Coleen very well – she’s very private – maybe now she’s felt comfortable enough to open up, and she’s met Jane, they’ve become friends… So, Coleen, please come on!’
Meanwhile, after living with Coleen for a fortnight, Jane also saw the Loose Women potential in her co-star.
Jane said, ‘I have suggested to [Coleen] that she would make a very good Loose Woman. I said to her, “No pressure, but you could come on with me, GK and Christine Lampard, and I think you’d have a fantastic time. I think you’d be very good. I’m just going to leave this with you.” She just nodded and smiled.’
As the compliments continue to come in thick and fast for Coleen, heat’s source says that while Wayne, 39, is thrilled for his wife, he’s slightly apprehensive about the idea of her starring on a show like Loose Women.
‘As much as Wayne is proud of Coleen for doing I’m A Celeb, it would be different if she were on Loose Women regularly, talking about their home life and relationship,’ our insider shares. ‘Of course, she would talk about their marriage if the topic came up, but she would never embarrass him or the boys – she would set clear boundaries. All Wayne wants is a quiet life, so he would rather she didn’t do a show like that, but he won’t stop her.’
Until Coleen famously won the Wagatha trial against Becky two years ago – in which a judge said her claims that ‘Rebekah Vardy’s account’ leaked stories about her to The Sun were ‘substantially true’ – she mostly shied away from the limelight to focus on raising her four sons, Kai, 15, Klay, 11, Kit, eight, and six-year-old Cass. Wayne continued to play football until 2021, with the family even uprooting to America for a year in 2018 as he played for DC United – a move that left Coleen grappling with intense homesickness.
After retiring from playing, Wayne took up managing, a pivot that has proved to be less successful than his days on the pitch. Currently coaching Plymouth Argyle – 268 miles from the family home in Cheshire – Wayne recently confessed to having ‘the toughest and hardest week of his managerial career’ after the team conceded 10 goals in two games.
Last year, Coleen – who had her own magazine column and was a regular on TV before stepping back from the spotlight – admitted that despite her children ‘always being her priority’, she would ‘like to see what’s out there’.
And, even though Wayne may be used to his wife of 16 years being the steady figure at home while he pursues his managerial ambitions, we’re told that Coleen feels it’s time for her to put herself first.
Our source says, ‘Doing Loose Women would be quite hard for Coleen at the moment, because Wayne is away and she wants to be there for the boys. Wayne is also under pressure with his job and could be moving back home sooner rather than later if results don’t go his way. Although that would be better logistically, Coleen knows Wayne hates not having anything to do – and that’s when he tends to go off the rails – but they have both agreed it’s her time to shine, and she would love to do a daytime TV show. She’s grown in confidence over the past few years and is happy to share her opinion on lots of subjects.’
The insider adds, ‘She did I’m A Celeb partly because she wants a career again, so she isn’t ruling anything out.’