Between them they have played the West End and Hollywood to critical and popular acclaim. Now one of the great celebrity couples, Catherine Zeta Jones and Michael Douglas, are to appear in the unlikely surroundings of a Victorian temple to justice.

The couple will give evidence in their legal battle with Hello! magazine, suing for millions of pounds over snatched "surreptitious" pictures taken at their wedding in New York in November 2000.

Their decision to appear is likely to create the biggest media circus at the Royal Courts of Justice in London. They will follow celebrities including Sir Elton John and Naomi Campbell who have gone through the doors of the High Court in high-profile legal disputes.

The move follows a landmark ruling by the Court of Appeal, which for the first time recognised that celebrities have rights to privacy. Ms Zeta Jones and Mr Douglas had signed a £1m deal with OK! magazine for pictures of the wedding, but its rival Hello! went on sale three days earlier with "exclusive" pictures obtained from the reception at New York's Plaza Hotel.

The couple will claim damages for loss of income from syndication rights. The case is to begin on 27 January. At an earlier hearing, the couple said they wanted compensation for damages caused to their professional reputations by the poor quality of the pictures. They also said their private lives had been "violated".

Eduardo Sanchez, main shareholder at Hello!, had his £2m offer for exclusive rights turned down in favour of the much smaller OK! bid, the earlier hearing was told.

The High Court was told yesterday that the pair would be seeking "very substantial" damages.Hello! is defending the action and claims that it was offered the pictures on the open market and was entitled to publish them.