Fiona Harvey has confirmed that she is planning a legal case regarding Netflix’s Baby Reindeer and “against all those who have lied about me”.
The show, created and starring Richard Gadd, portrays his alleged experiences of being stalked by a woman who is reportedly Harvey.
Gadd had previously made it clear that he’s changed names and specific details of the story to protect the identities of those involved and claimed ‘Martha’, as his stalker is named in the show, “would not even recognise herself” if watching. The show has gone viral since airing and has topped Netflix’s viewing chart since its release.
Now, however, Harvey has released a statement confirming she is working with a legal team to take action against Netflix.
In the lengthy statement, Harvey wrote: “Earlier in 2024, Netflix released a programme called Baby Reindeer, which they billed and marketed as a ‘true story’. One of the two main characters, ‘Martha’, was clearly intended to be based on me.
“A senior Netflix executive gave evidence to parliament on oath that Baby Reindeer was ‘obviously a true story’ of Richard Gadd’s dealings with a ‘convicted stalker’. No doubt Richard Gadd, Clerkenwell Films (who produced the programme) and Netflix have made millions of pounds from this programme, in large part by making so many claims that Baby Reindeer is a true story.”
She continued: “I have no doubt that the character of ‘Martha’ in Baby Reindeer was intended to be a portrayal of me. The problem for Richard Gadd and now for Netflix is that Baby Reindeer is not a true story at all. I am not a ‘convicted stalker.’ I have never been charged with any crime, let alone been convicted, still less pleaded guilty and of course I have never been to prison for anything. This is how Gadd and Netflix chose to portray me in a TV show, for their own financial gain.
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“Nobody ever approached me for any comment on the accuracy of Baby Reindeer, or the very serious and damaging allegation that I am a convicted criminal, with a serious criminal record, who has spent time in prison. Nobody ever asked for my permission to present me in this way or to use my image at all.
“The media firestorm around Baby Reindeer, and my rapid identification as the ‘real Martha,’ have caused untold damage to my health, my reputation, my job prospects and my ability to make sensible decisions about my welfare and best interests. This media firestorm continues, with daily bombardments of calls seeking comment on stories of every possible kind.”
Harvey went on to say that together with a lawyer, she is now “putting together a legal team, in the UK and in the US, to take forward legal action against all of those who have lied about me and used my image to make large sums of money for themselves, with such damaging consequences for me and my family.”
She concluded: “Once I have a legal team in place, I expect that they will make a further statement, setting out the next steps that I will be taking to deal with everything that has happened, as a direct result of the dishonest and false picture of me, painted in Baby Reindeer and in the media generally.”
Harvey added that she will be no further statements to the media regarding the show and has asked that the media respect her privacy.
NME has reached out to Netflix for comment.
Harvey also appeared on Piers Morgan Uncensored earlier this month (May 9), her first television interview since the show aired.
In the interview, which has been viewed over 10 million times, Harvey denied many aspects of the show’s narrative, saying that she did not stalk Gadd, attack his girlfriend, destroy the bar he worked in or contact his parents. She also strongly denied being convicted of any charges, which is the fate that befalls Martha in the show.
Viewers were quick to question the ethics of the interview since Gadd has previously stated that his real stalker was “mentally unwell”. However, Piers Morgan later hit back at the claims, saying Harvey should be allowed to “tell her side of the story”.
“If she was a convicted stalker who had gone to prison and put his life through hell, clearly we had to think long and hard about the public interest justification in giving her the platform,” Morgan told BBC News Culture and Media Editor Katie Razzall.
“But I felt there was enough of a question mark surrounding that part of the story to justify her at least giving her side of the story. She is emphatic that there was no court case, no conviction, she never pled guilty and there was no prison sentence,” he added.
Asked if he and his team had performed checks into Harvey’s criminal history before the interview, Morgan replied: “There were obviously other reports of her having stalked other people but again, nothing that led to any apparent conviction.
“I think that is a crucial distinction I would draw here, which is there’s a big difference legally between someone who may have been obsessive towards some people, may have even harassed them, but if it hasn’t crossed the bar of a crime, then to call them in a series where they have been immediately identified a convicted criminal, that is a serious failure by Netflix.”
Morgan was also asked if his show had looked into Harvey’s mental health prior to the interview, to which he responded: “We had long conversations about it but actually I have no qualms at all about offering her the platform because I certainly didn’t get the feeling when she came in that I was dealing with someone who was a vulnerable person.
“If anything, she was pretty combative with me. When it comes to the mental health issue, Richard Gadd has been very searingly honest about his own mental health issues and yet that doesn’t seem to factor into people’s concerns.
“He was allowed a platform to tell what he says is his story… If he can be allowed to do that, then I think the person he has put up there as a convicted stalker who has gone to prison for harassing him should be allowed to have her say if, as she says, it isn’t true.”
Previously, Gadd urged people to stop trying to work out the real-life identity of Martha in the show. He added: ”Please don’t speculate on who any of the real life people could be. That’s not the point of the show.”
Gadd previously told GQ: “We’ve gone to such great lengths to disguise her to the point that I don’t think she would recognise herself.”
He also told The Independent: “I can’t emphasise enough how much of a victim she is in all this… Stalking and harassment is a form of mental illness. It would have been wrong to paint her as a monster, because she’s unwell, and the system’s failed her.”