Rebekah Vardy, the former I’m A Celebrity star, has faced a fresh blow to her public profile after her much-hyped reality TV return drew dismal viewing figures this week. The Daily Mail can reveal that The Vardys attracted an average audience of just 670,000 viewers on Tuesday, despite ITV reserving a coveted 9pm prime-time slot for the show.
The programme scraped a meagre 6.7 per cent audience share, comfortably lagging behind rival shows. BBC’s Who Do You Think You Are? drew nearly three times as many viewers, averaging 1.9 million over the same period, while a repeat of QI on BBC2 also outperformed Vardy’s reality venture. Even Channel 5’s new drama The Fortune surpassed The Vardys, pulling in close to a million viewers.
“It’s a major flop, and very disappointing considering the amount of effort which has gone into it,” an industry insider told the Daily Mail. “You’d expect the first episode to be the most popular after all the advertising and promotion, so there’s every likelihood it will only get worse from here. There’s some head-scratching over why anyone thought someone with Becky’s reputation would attract viewers.”
CCTV footage showed Jamie and Rebekah Vardy’s £2million Italian home being raided by a gang of ‘five’ armed robbers on the third episode of their ITV reality show
Cameras inside the property captured the aftermath of the burglary
Thieves broke into the family’s luxury villa on Lake Garda in 2025 and escaped with around £80,000 worth of valuables
The three-part series follows Rebekah, 44, and former England and Premier League ace Jamie Vardy, 39, as the couple uproots their family to Italy after Jamie signed for Serie A side Cremonese. The show charts their move from Leicester City, capturing the family’s adjustment to a new country and a foreign football league.
However, rather than presenting a glamorous football fairytale, the series drew criticism from both viewers and television critics. One critic gave it a one-star rating, branding the show “very bad, very boring and devastating for Wagatha Christie fans,” while another called it “deeply dull,” nodding wryly to the infamous social media saga between Rebekah and Coleen Rooney that culminated in the 2022 High Court trial.
Indeed, friends of Rebekah say she is still grappling with the humiliation of that legal defeat, in which Mrs Justice Steyn ruled that Coleen Rooney’s claims were “substantially true” and ordered Rebekah to pay £1.19 million in legal costs.
Despite this, Rebekah appears defiant throughout the series, insisting she will never apologise or admit guilt. “I’m living with the judgment the judge made but, still to this day, I believe she was wrong,” Rebekah says in one episode. “People constantly go: ‘Well, it’s not going to change anything unless you apologise.’ But I’m not apologising for something I didn’t do… it’s never going to happen. Hell will freeze over before I do that.”
Fans watching at home expressed frustration online, claiming the scandal’s novelty had long passed and urging Rebekah to move on. One viewer remarked, “I mean, Coleen Rooney wiped the floor with her in court, so why is ITV even giving Rebekah Vardy air time?” Another bluntly tweeted, “BORING!!!” Critics also noted that the show focused heavily on Rebekah, despite Jamie being a professional footballer and arguably the main draw.
The series also highlights the family’s three children together — Sofia, 12, Finlay, 9, and Olivia Grace, 6 — alongside Rebekah’s children from previous relationships, Megan, 23, and Taylor, 15, as well as stepdaughter Ella, 11, Jamie’s child.
A particularly shocking moment comes in the third episode, where CCTV footage captures a gang of five armed robbers raiding the family’s £2 million Italian villa on Lake Garda in 2025. £80,000 worth of jewellery was stolen in the terrifying break-in. Rebekah recalls the ordeal, admitting she felt “totally violated” and desperate to leave the house. As the footage plays, she is heard shouting to Jamie: “No. No it’s not f****** OK! Babe I’m going f****** home. This is not OK.”
The cameras also captured the aftermath inside the property, including her children’s innocent observations, like Taylor spotting “poo footprints” upstairs, while Rebekah struggled to process the violation. At the time, a police source confirmed that investigators believed the gang had timed the burglary to coincide with Jamie’s absence, indicating careful planning by the intruders.
Reflecting on the incident, Rebekah admitted the burglary had taken a heavy emotional toll on Jamie as well. “Jamie’s furious. Naturally, this has a knock-on effect on him and football,” she explained. “He always gives 100 per cent, but Jamie performs best when he knows his family is safe. Right now, I don’t feel either of those.” Consequently, Jamie’s footballing performance suffered, with Cremonese sliding toward the bottom of the Serie A table.
The series also captures Rebekah confiding in her eldest daughter, Megan, about the lasting psychological impact of the raid. “Since the burglary, it’s been really tough, horrible even. I hate being in the house now… it makes you question everything,” she tells her daughter. She explains her desire to protect the younger children, keeping Sofia largely unaware of the traumatic event, while trying to maintain a sense of normalcy.
Amid these challenges, the family is already planning a return to the UK following Cremonese’s relegation. Sources reveal Jamie is determined to enjoy “one final hurrah” in English football before retirement, indicating that the Italian chapter may soon close. “They are definitely coming back to Britain,” a family friend told the Daily Mail, underscoring the family’s focus on stability and security after the dramatic events abroad.
From disappointing ratings to traumatic home invasions, Rebekah Vardy’s reality comeback has been anything but smooth. Yet the series offers an intimate, unflinching look at her life, struggles, and unwavering defiance, providing viewers with a mix of scandal, suspense, and human drama that continues to captivate and polarise audiences.
Source: Daily Mail
