SINCE THEY FIRST became tabloid fixtures when they were just teenagers, former star football player Wayne Rooney and his wife Coleen have lived their lives in the glare of the media.

The pair have been a couple since they were in their mid-teens, and we’ve followed their relationship as it has weathered some pretty intense trials. Today they’re in their 40s, are the parents of four boys – Kai, Klay, Kit and Cass – and settling into a new phase of life.

Hence the timing of this documentary from Disney+, which brings us into the Rooney mansion at a pivotal moment for both Coleen and Wayne. Wayne has been let go from managing Plymouth Argyle and is trying to grow his career as a football pundit, while Coleen is aiming to strike out on her own in a more deliberate way.

Launchpad

KERRY SPICER KERRY SPICER

It’s no coincidence that this 10-part documentary series is launching now. It’s the ideal moment to cement the Rooneys in their new roles, and it’s obvious from the first episode that it’s particularly a vehicle for Coleen to show that she’s open to new projects. She’s always been an independent woman – she’s written columns for magazines and made TV documentaries as well as parenting their children. But she clearly wants to make the most of a recent stint in the jungle for I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! as well as coming out the winner in the ‘Wagatha Christie’ scandal. 

The Real Rooneys follows on from recent documentaries on Victoria and David Beckham and Michael Owen, which promise to give us a no-holds-barred look at the real lives of sporting celebrities. But while the Beckham documentaries on Netflix were too slick to feel real, the Rooneys do seem like they’re willing to give us a grittier look at what’s actually going on in their lives.

One point of conflict is that Wayne is now at home a lot more than usual, which means more chances to get under Coleen’s feet. By episode two, Coleen is telling us about how difficult it is having Wayne around. She’s incredibly organised and has a real get-up-and-go attitude, while Wayne – according to the series – is, shall we say, a lot more relaxed about his routine and enjoys sleeping in.

There’s no doubt the couple love each other, but they annoy each other nonetheless. The documentary sees them head off to Scotland to “reconnect”, which is almost thwarted by Wayne going golfing with pals and keeping Coleen waiting two hours before they can head off on their sojourn.

But it’s always worth reminding ourselves that no matter how ‘real’ things feel in a celebrity documentary, we are nonetheless getting an edited version of reality. We don’t know what’s really going on with the pair, but the fact they’re willing to put across a fairly unflattering picture of themselves is at least laudable. Yet if they didn’t have the relationship tensions as a focal point across the series, the drama would be pretty thin on the ground.

This seeming honesty about themselves has always been the key to the Rooneys being such a hit with the public. Despite their fame, they feel quite normal and relatable. Wayne is a cheeky chappy, and Coleen is happy to call him out for acting the eejit. There’s an inner strength to Coleen that balances out Wayne’s tomfoolery, though in this series Wayne comes across as a much lovelier guy than you might expect. They have a lot of history behind them, and they’re honest about how they feel about each other. That feels quite refreshing.

New roles

Kerry Spicer Kerry Spicer

They’re also frank in the series about Wayne’s career, and the impact of being sacked from his management job. He was a teenage football wunderkind, but maintaining a sports-related career in his 40s is not exactly an easy task. Football punditry is challenging, but he seems happier doing his TV and podcast work than management.

Meanwhile, in the series Coleen stars in several ads and also signs on to design a range with Primark. Though it’s obvious that she will agree to the lucrative Primark deal, it’s played – to unintentionally hilarious effect – as a cliffhanger moment in the first episode. Coleen draws out her answer on whether she will commit as worried-looking Primark staff hang on her every word in a Dublin steak restaurant.

Across the series we also get to know the pair’s four children, who are ‘spirited’ to say the least. This reviewer will always have ethical concerns about putting kids into the public eye in this way, but there’s no avoiding the fact that the Rooney offspring are going to follow their parents into public-facing jobs. The eldest, Kai, is a footballer, and the series is probably viewed as good training for his own inevitable fame.

The Real Rooneys doesn’t necessarily bring us anything new in terms of celebrity documentaries, and its format, editing style and tone will be familiar to most viewers. But its appeal lies in the Rooneys themselves. They’re very enjoyable to watch, feeling within touching distance of the type of people you might bump into down the shops or in the pub.

Though fame means they now live in a humongous house and their kids can go zooming around its grounds in go-karts, they don’t seem to have entirely lost contact with the real world. Well, mostly. 

The Rooneys are a real family: they leave their socks on the bedroom floor, they fight and fail at jobs and juggle childcare with work. They love a joke, and Wayne in particular doesn’t seem to mind having the mick taken out of him by his wife. 

So there are many reasons why The Real Rooneys wafts over you like candyfloss. That sense of ‘reality’ feels nice, even if it’s put on for our benefit. The show is sweet, easy to digest and tips along nicely. How ‘real’ it is isn’t exactly up for debate – it’s real to a certain extent. It’s a curated, edited version of the Rooneys’ actual life.

This begs the question of whether there is a version of their lives that isn’t lived with one eye on what the public thinks about them. Perhaps in the Rooneys’ world, this is real life. Perhaps to live without a camera lens nearby wouldn’t be to live at all.

And in a way, can you blame Wayne and Coleen? They spent years having their lives picked over by the media – now they can harness the power of streaming to turn the camera on themselves, their way.

Whether you make it through all 10 episodes of the series depends on your interest in the pair, but there’s no denying that they are ultimately very charming.

The Real Rooneys is streaming on Disney+ now.