NETFLIX has broken its silence on Baby Reindeer and insists it took every precaution to keep the real stalker’s identity secret.
Fiona Harvey – who claims to be the inspiration for the obsessive Martha character – has spoken to Piers Morgan Uncensored, with the interview to be aired tonight.
The smash hit miniseries purports to be a true story, based on writer and star Richard Gadd’s own experiences of being stalked and sexually assaulted.
Harvey was ‘outed’ within hours of the show premiering on Netflix last month by internet sleuths.
Speaking in parliament, policy chief Benjamin King said that Netflix and Clerkenwell Films – who made the show – took “every reasonable precaution in disguising the real-life identities of the people involved in that story”.
SNP MP John Nicolson, who sits on the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, added that efforts hadn’t stopped fans finding Harvey online.
Mr King responded saying Netflix needed to balance protecting identities with upholding the “veracity and authenticity” of the show.
“We didn’t want to anonymise that or make it generic to the point where it was no longer his story because that would undermine the intent behind the show,” the senior public policy director said.
“Ultimately, it’s obviously very difficult to control what viewers do, particularly in a world where everything is amplified by social media.
“I personally wouldn’t be comfortable with a world in which we decided it was better that Richard was silenced and not allowed to tell the story.”
Gadd encouraged fans not to try discover the real life counterparts to the characters – and has insisted the Martha inspiration is a victim and was failed by the system.
What is Baby Reindeer?
WITH its gripping plot about stalking, Baby Reindeer has got everybody talking.
The Netflix series follows a man who is relentlessly perused by an obsessed woman, with fans wondering how true the show is.
The seven-part serie’s harrowing plot is based on Scottish comedian and leading star Richard Gadd’s real-life experience of having a female stalker.
At first he turned his traumatic story into a critically-acclaimed play, before Netflix made it into a series of the same name.
Like the plot of Baby Reindeer, Richard’s stalking nightmare started with a chance encounter at the pub he was working in.
The unnamed woman would show up at his house and place of work, while sending him thousands of emails and voicemails.
Ultimately, it became a harassment case that spanned over four years.
The real-life Martha – whose name Gadd has never disclosed – is now required by law not to approach him or any of his friends or family.
However, fans of the show quickly found and ‘outed’ Fiona Harvey as the inspiration and she has confirmed it, though has slammed the show as full of lies.
However, Harvey, 58, has since come out to confirm she is the woman Gadd claims harassed her.
The writer – who plays a fictionalised version of himself called Donnie Dunn – said fans’ investigations have led to people he’s worked with being wrongly accused of being a producer he alleges sexually assaulted him.
Gadd wrote on his Instagram page about how “people I love, have worked with, and admire” were being targeted unfairly.
He added: “Please don’t speculate on who any of the real life people could be. That’s not the point of the show.”
