Coleen Rooney and Rebekah Vardy will go head-to-head in Zoom mediation

Coleen Rooney and Rebekah Vardy will come face-to-face on Zoom on Wednesday in an attempt to settle their high-profile dispute as a deadline looms for them to find an agreement out of court.

The warring pair will participate in a two-day mediation hearing, which will be held remotely.

Lawyers representing both women will also be present for the hearing, which will be conducted by a mediator that has been agreed by both sides.

Meeting: Coleen Rooney and Rebekah Vardy will come face-to-face on Zoom on Wednesday in an attempt to settle their high-profile dispute

Meeting: Coleen Rooney and Rebekah Vardy will come face-to-face on Zoom on Wednesday in an attempt to settle their high-profile dispute

The identity of the mediator is confidential but according to legal experts, it is likely to be a senior barrister, who will step in between the two parties if discussions get too heated.

Passions remain high between the two Wags, with Rebekah adamant that she was not responsible for leaking stories about Coleen to the media.

Coleen has handed Rebekah an ‘olive branch’ and made her an offer to ‘agree to disagree’ as they head into mediation.

If accepted, the last-minute peace deal would see both parties make a substantial donation to charity. They would also pay their own legal costs, a move known in legal circles as a ‘drop hands’ settlement.

Feud: The warring pair will participate in a two-day mediation hearing, which will be held remotely as a deadline looms for them to find an agreement out of court (pictured in 2016)

Feud: The warring pair will participate in a two-day mediation hearing, which will be held remotely as a deadline looms for them to find an agreement out of court (pictured in 2016)

A source told MailOnline: ‘Coleen believes that this has all gone too far. The legal costs on both sides are well into six figures.’

Rebekah, 38, launched a £1m High Court libel action after Coleen, 34 accused her in an Instagram post more than a year ago of being the source of leaks to the media.

Coleen revealed that she had set a trap to see who was responsible for them, which earned her the nickname ‘Wagatha Christie’ as the row between the two Wags simmered, culminating in legal action.

At the start of their libel case at London’s High Court last November, the judge agreed a stay on the case until 8 February so that mediation can take place. If the two women are unable to reach agreement, then a trial is expected to take place later this year.

Accusation: Vardy was accused by her former friend of leaking false stories about her personal life to the media last year

Accusation: Vardy was accused by her former friend of leaking false stories about her personal life to the media last year

Caroline Kean, head of litigation at leading law firm Wiggin, who specialises in mediations told MailOnline: ‘Over the course of the two days the mediator will try to broker a settlement.

‘It’s a completely confidential process and anything that is shared openly with both sides is only done with their agreement. Courts are very keen that people should find a settlement themselves and generally, mediations have quite a high success rate.’

The mediation will begin with statements being read out by lawyers for both sides. They will then be separated, with the mediator moving remotely between the two parties for discussions as an attempt is made to find a settlement.

Both sides are brought together if the mediator feels any joint issues can be agreed on and require further discussion.

WAGs: Passions remain high between the two Wags, with Rebekah adamant that she was not responsible for leaking stories about Coleen to the media (pictured with Jamie in 2017)

WAGs: Passions remain high between the two Wags, with Rebekah adamant that she was not responsible for leaking stories about Coleen to the media (pictured with Jamie in 2017)

Whatever the outcome of the discussions, both sides are then brought together at the end of the two days for a final meeting to establish what has or has not been agreed.

But Ms Kean warned that details of Coleen’s offer being made public ‘do not bode well’ for the mediation process.

She said: ‘It’s very surprising that this has been put into the public domain. I don’t think it bodes well for the parties reaching agreement.

‘There’s a publicity element there because one side is saying ‘look how reasonable I’m being. Then the other side looks bad if it doesn’t accept it. These are the sort of things that need to be discussed confidentially in the mediation.’

She added: ‘I’m sure this offer being made public will have infuriated Vardy’s side.’

Her side: Coleen (pictured with Wayne in 2016) said she discovered the alleged betrayal by carrying out a months-long 'sting operation'

Her side: Coleen (pictured with Wayne in 2016) said she discovered the alleged betrayal by carrying out a months-long ‘sting operation’

If the two women are able to reach agreement, then lawyers are expected to formalise it in writing as quickly as possible. They will then appear before Mr Justice Warby, who is presiding over the case, who will sign off the agreement and make any final decisions on costs.

During a preliminary hearing last year, the court heard Coleen’s posts were an ‘untrue and unjustified defamatory attack’ which were ‘published and republished to millions of people’

Hugh Tomlinson, QC, representing Rebekah said her accusation ‘leaves the reasonable reader in no doubt that the defendant is accusing the claimant of consistently and repeatedly betraying her trust over several years.’

He added: ‘In fact, she did nothing wrong. Whatever leaks there were did not come from her (Rebekah).’

Following the hearing, the judge High Court ruled that Coleen’s post ‘clearly identified’ Rebekah as being ‘guilty of the serious and consistent breach of trust.’

But Coleen then hit back with a statement via her spokesman, saying she was ‘keen’ to hear what Rebekah has to say in court.