Baby Reindeer’s real-life ‘Martha’ has hit back at the ‘untrue’ facts of the Netflix hit, claiming Richard Gadd is ‘obsessed’ with her and has been in a relationship with a lawyer for five years.
Last night’s explosive interview on Piers Morgan Uncensored sparked a row as viewers branded the TV chat ‘highly irresponsible’ and suggested Ms Harvey was being ‘exploited for sensationalism and bad taste’.
A month after the show aired, Ms Harvey confirmed the hit series is based on her, but denied ever stalking Mr Gadd, sexually assaulting him or assaulting his girlfriend.
The show alleges that the comedian’s female stalker waged a ruthless stalking campaign that began after he served her in a London pub while working as a bartender.
In the Netflix hit, Donny Dunn (Richard Gadd) offers Martha a cup of tea on the house during their first meeting, which Mrs Harvey last night claimed never happened.
“Nobody gets anything for free in the Hawley Arms,” she said, referring to the pub where they are said to have met.
Ms Harvey then claimed Mr Gadd was ‘directing the conversation’ she was having with someone else at the bar, adding: ‘From then on he seemed obsessed with me.’
The alleged stalker said she was ‘forced’ to tell her side of the story after receiving death threats from ‘internet sleuths’ following the show’s release.
Piers Morgan last night with Martha’s inspiration, Fiona Harvey, where she gave an impressive interview on his YouTube show Uncensored
Baby Reindeer, the extraordinary Netflix drama, has been viewed more than 60 million times in the past month
In the hit drama series, released on April 11 and inspired by the real-life experiences of comedian and writer Gadd, his character Donny is stalked by a woman called Martha Scott after he serves her a free cup of tea at the pub where he works.
So far the Mail has chosen not to identify her, instead withholding her name and pixelating her face to protect her privacy. Now that she herself has put her real identity in the public domain, we will call her Fiona Harvey.
Ms. Harvey repeatedly denied that she was stalking Gadd in real life and described the show as “a work of fiction, a work of exaggeration.”
And when Morgan asked her if Gadd had offered her a free cup of tea after she walked into the pub where he worked, she replied: ‘No, that’s not right.
‘He didn’t offer me a cup of tea… I wanted a meal with a drink of lemonade, and I was very hungry. I have diabetes, so very hungry. So that’s true.’
Morgan then asked, “And have you spoken to him?” And Mrs Harvey replied: ‘And he interrupted a conversation… he said, ‘Oh, you’re Scottish,’ and basically demanded the conversation.
“You know, I was talking to someone. It’s quite rich. […] So from then on he seemed to be obsessed with me.’
The 58-year-old has claimed she was prepared to go to court to defend herself against allegations made in the series.
When Morgan asked if she will “categorically pursue legal action,” she replied, “Absolutely, against both him (Gadd) and Netflix.”
The 58-year-old alleged stalker is depicted in Morgan’s programme
Piers Morgan has dropped the first trailer ahead of his interview with Baby Reindeer’s ‘real-life Martha’, which airs on Thursday evening at 8pm.
The chilling real-life drama is inspired by the ordeal that Scottish creator and lead actor Richard Gadd endured at the hands of ‘Martha’ (played by Jessica Gunning, right)
Baby Reindeer delves into Richard’s harrowing stalking ordeal and brutal sexual abuse as he plays a fictional version of himself named Donny Dunn (pictured)
Richard Gadd and Jessica Gunning attended a photo call for a screening in LA on Tuesday
Ms Harvey said she has partially instructed lawyers, but “we want to explore all options, there are a number of people who need to be charged.”
During the interview, Ms. Harvey referenced a scene in the show in which character Martha admits to intimidating Gadd’s character and receives a nine-month prison sentence.
“That is completely untrue, very, very defamatory of me, very damaging to my career,” she said.
“I wanted to completely disprove that on this show – I’m not a stalker, I haven’t been to jail, I haven’t had any warrants – it’s complete nonsense.”
Shocked viewers said they were ‘bothered’ by the program on Piers Morgan Uncensored, which they called a ‘painful watch’.
One viewer called Sarah Lucy wrote on X: ‘I’m disturbed watching the Piers Morgan interview with Fiona Harvey.
‘It is deeply disturbing to see her obvious mental health issues being exploited for sensationalism and bad taste.’
Another social media user called Lucy said: ‘Fiona Harvey’s fixed beliefs and delusions are clear signs of serious mental health problems for anyone working in this field.
“It’s clear she’s being exploited for financial gain.”
A third Twitter/X user added: ‘It was very irresponsible to put Fiona Harvey on TV!’
After the show was released, viewers began speculating about the real people who inspired the events behind the series, with Gadd posting on his Instagram Story.
He said: ‘Hello everyone, people I love, have worked with and admire… are getting wrongly caught up in speculation.
‘Please don’t speculate about who real people might be. That’s not the point of our show.’
Representatives for Gadd and Netflix have been contacted for comment.