Now MPs wade into Baby Reindeer storm as they demand Netflix boss provides proof to back up claim ‘stalker’ was convicted

Netflix bosses are under fire from MPs over claims that Baby Reindeer’s ‘stalker’ has been convicted and jailed for harassing the show’s star after the woman who says she was the basis for the character denied it.

The SNP’s John Nicolson has warned the entertainment giant’s policy chief Benjamin King that he may be in contempt of Parliament over the evidence he gave to the House of Commons Culture Committee last week about ‘Martha’.

The program claims that Martha targeted main character Richard Gadd and was convicted and imprisoned for her actions towards him, having previously spent time stalking someone else.

And speaking to MPs last week, Mr King said the program is ‘a true story of the horrific abuse suffered by writer and protagonist Richard Gadd at the hands of a convicted stalker’.

However, Scottish lawyer Fiona Harvey came forward last week and said she was the inspiration for the character but was never convicted or jailed. She says she never received more than a police warning for what she did and is considering legal action.

Mr Nicolson told the BBC it was clear Mr King’s evidence had been ‘disputed’, adding: ‘The charge – of a conviction – is very important. Journalists cannot find any evidence to support Netflix’s claim… I will be writing to Netflix asking them to substantiate the claim they have made.”

The program claims that Martha was convicted and imprisoned for her actions towards him, after previously spending time stalking someone else. However, Scottish lawyer Fiona Harvey came forward last week and said she was the inspiration for the character but was never convicted or jailed.

The row comes as Netflix continues to raise questions about its duty of care in concealing the real identities of those portrayed in the comedy.

Following the show’s phenomenal global success, comedian Mr Gadd, who based the Netflix hit on his real life, said he did not want the true identities of his abusers to be revealed, adding that this was ‘not the point ‘ of the series.

In the show, Mr Gadd’s character Donny Dunn falls victim to a ruthless stalking campaign from ‘Martha’, which begins after he serves her in a London pub while working as a bartender.

Mr Gadd previously made it clear that he was changing the names and specific details of the story to protect the identities of those involved, even claiming that ‘Martha’ ‘wouldn’t even recognize herself’ in the hit show.

But many viewers have taken to social media to criticize the show’s creator for choosing an “identical” actress to play Gadd’s real-life stalker.

And Mrs Harvey told the Daily Record last week: ‘I haven’t been to prison. I don’t know where the four and a half years and nine months come from. None of this happened. It’s a lot of nonsense.’

Mr King was asked by MPs about the streamer’s duty of care in relation to Baby Reindeer and whether he was concerned the characters could be identified. He claimed that both Netflix and Baby Reindeer producer Clerkenwell Films “took every reasonable precaution to conceal the real identities of the people involved in that story.”

But he also said that “we didn’t want to anonymize it…or make it so generic that it was no longer his.” [Mr Gadd’s] story, because that would undermine the intention behind the show’.

He added: ‘Richard Gadd was very clear that the point of the show was not to inspire people to try and track down the real individuals.

‘Ultimately, it is of course very difficult to control what viewers do, especially in a world where everything is amplified by social media.

“Essentially, this was Richard’s story and it was about telling Richard’s story in a truthful way. Personally, I wouldn’t be comfortable in a world where we decided it was better for Richard to be silenced and not allowed to tell his story. We are closely monitoring the situation.’