Baby Reindeer latest — Piers Morgan claims Netflix ‘failed’ Fiona Harvey as he plans to interview Richard Gadd
PIERS Morgan has said he wants to interview Baby Reindeer creator Richard Gadd following his bombshell chat with the "real Martha."
The Uncensored host appeared on ITV's Lorraine to discuss his interview with Fiona Harvey.
The 'real-life Martha' from hit show Baby Reindeer told Piers she is taking legal action against Richard Gadd and Netflix.
And towards the end of his interview with Lorraine, Piers called on Richard Gadd to appear on his Uncensored show to provide "evidence" of the events in Baby Reindeer.
Piers added that he feels streaming giant Netflix has "failed" to protect Fiona Harvey's identity.
Read our Piers Morgan Baby Reindeer interview blog for the latest updates...
‘I think there may have been a couple of emails’
The start of Baby Reindeer’s first episode shows Donny desperately walking into a police station and showing an incredulous officer streams of messages — often badly spelt — on his phone.
Fiona scoffed at suggestions that he received 41,000 emails, 350 hours of voicemails, 744 tweets, 48 Facebook messages and 106 letters.
She said: “That’s simply not true. If somebody was sending somebody 41,000 emails, they’d be doing how many a day? Lots.”
Piers asked her: “What did you send?” Fiona replied: “I think there may have been a couple of emails, but that was it. Just jokey banter emails.”
Fiona confessed she did say Gadd looked like a ‘baby reindeer’
Asked by Piers if Gadd offered her a free cup of tea at the pub, Fiona said: “No, that’s not correct. He didn’t offer me a cup of tea. I was in for a meal.”
She claimed Gadd actually barged in on a chat she was having with someone else in the pub.
Fiona told Piers: “He interrupted a conversation. He said, ‘Oh you’re Scottish’ and basically commandeered the conversation. I was talking to somebody. It’s pretty rich. He seemed to be obsessed with me from that moment onwards.”
However Fiona confessed she did say Gadd looked like a “baby reindeer”, which Martha does, as he resembled a toy she had as a child.
She said: “I had a toy reindeer and he’d shaved his head, that bit is true, and there were reindeers in the shops because it was Christmas. It was a joke, so I’ve inadvertently penned the name of the show.”
Fiona Harvey latest
- Fiona Harvey reveals all on Piers Morgan Uncensored
- She said she IS Baby Reindeer’s Martha
- But Fiona WON’T be watching the Netflix hit
- Richard Gadd is the ‘real psycho’, Fiona claims
- Piers Morgan says Fiona ‘lied to me quite a lot’
'I've never been to his house'
Fiona Harvey spent much of her interview with Piers Morgan disputing the events of Richard Gadd's hit show Baby Reindeer.
"I have never been to his house or attacked any girlfriend or anything like that," she told Piers.
In the show's conclusion, Martha is seen in tears in court pleading guilty to a number of charges related to her harassment of Donny, and is jailed for nine months.
However, Harvey said she has never been convicted of anything, including in relation to Gadd.
Fiona Harvey denies sending 41,000 emails
During this week's interview, Piers Morgan told Fiona Harvey that Netflix claims to have evidence of 41,000 emails, 350 hours of voicemails, 744 tweets, 48 Facebook messages and 106 letters sent by her to Richard Gadd.
However, Harvey denied this, claiming she had sent around 10 emails and one letter.
She went on to suggest if there was any audio footage of her then Gadd had possibly recorded her in the pub.
Fact or fiction?
Fiona Harvey disputed many of the claims made in Baby Reindeer during her interview with Piers Morgan.
Take a look at some of her claims, versus what the hit Netflix show presents.
Fiona Harvey claims she has received death threats
Speaking to Piers Morgan, Fiona Harvey claimed she received death threats in the wake of Baby Reindeer's release.
"Some of the death threats have been really terrible online. People phoning me up," she said.
"You know, it's been absolutely horrendous. I wouldn't give credence to something like that and it's not really my kind of drama.”
Has Fiona Harvey watched Baby Reindeer?
Asked if she had watched the drama, Fiona Harvey replied: “Not at all. I've heard about the court scene, about the jail sentences and all this sort of stuff… I haven't watched any of it.”
“You're not curious to?” Morgan probed.
“No, I think I’d be sick. It's taken over enough of my life. I find it quite obscene. I find it horrifying, misogynistic."
How much has Richard Gadd made?
Fiona Harvey asked Piers Morgan how much he thinks Richard Gadd has made off the hit Netflix show, and Piers estimated “several million pounds.”
“I think he’s done bloody well out of defaming me,” Harvey replied.
“He’s making money out of untrue facts. He’s been the ultimate misogynist.”
Is Baby Reindeer a true story?
Baby Reindeer has taken the world by storm since its release, with millions tuning in to follow the story of a comedian and his stalker.
The show opens with a message that reads: "This is a true story."
It later adds: "This programme is based on real events: however certain characters, names, incidents, locations, and dialogue have been fictionalised for dramatic purposes."
Fiona Harvey planning legal action
Fiona Harvey confirmed to Piers Morgan she plans to take legal action following the release of Baby Reindeer.
During the interview, Morgan asked if she "categorically be taking legal action."
She replied: "Absolutely, against both him (Gadd) and Netflix."
Baby Reindeer has 'taken over my life', Fiona Harvey says
Fiona Harvey, who is alleged to be the inspiration for Martha in Baby Reindeer, has branded the show "obscene" and "misogynistic."
She said the show has: "taken over enough of my life. I find it quite obscene. I find it horrifying, misogynistic. Some of the death threats have been really terrible online, people phoning me up".
She added: "It's been absolutely horrendous. I wouldn't give credence to something like that, and it's not really my kind of drama."
When did Fiona first learn of Baby Reindeer?
Fiona Harvey learnt of Baby Reindeer before its runaway success on Netflix.
She explained that she first became aware of Baby Reindeer when Richard Gadd took it to Edinburgh Fringe Festival as a one-man show.
She said: “He’s come up with this character called Martha and he has put me right in the frame.
“This is a programme for the 20-somethings.
“The people with no lives, no jobs, whatever. I don’t want to be a celebrity.”
Fiona Harvey has six email addresses
Fiona Harvey told Piers Morgan that she might have up to six email addresses.
“I like to keep people on different phones and different emails,” she said.
“Maybe four. I think it’s four to six. Yeah, it’s just easier, it’s easier. So you have some for your utilities, some for close friends, whatever.”
When Piers Morgan said he didn’t know anyone with six emails, she responded, “You don’t know many people then, and I know, I know people with four or six email addresses.”
She revealed that she also has four different phones.
What TV shows has Jessica Gunning been in?
Prior to her star turn in Baby Reindeer, Jessica Gunning had a long and successful showbiz career.
Jessica first rose to fame after appearing in an episode of Doctor Who in 2008.
Since then she has appeared in the likes of:
- Law and Order: UK
- White Heat
- Pride
- Trollied
- Summerland
- Outlaws
Credit: Netflix
Richard Gadd's plea
Following speculation online, Richard Gadd called on Baby Reindeer viewers not to target real-life people.
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."
Netflix boss claims service took 'every precaution' to prevent speculation
Netflix has broken its silence after the "real identity" of Baby Reindeer's Martha was seemingly leaked by online 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".
"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."
Fiona Harvey slams Richard Gadd
Fiona Harvey didn’t hold anything back during her interview with Piers Morgan last night.
Hitting out at Baby Reindeer creator Richard Gadd, she said to Piers: “I just generally think he’s got an extreme psychiatric problem.
“It’s a work of fiction. It’s a work of hyperbole, as I’ve always said.”
Fiona Harvey denies convictions
Fiona Harvey denied any criminal convictions during her interview with Piers Morgan.
She said: “That’s completely untrue. Very, very defamatory to me, very career damaging. And I wanted to rebut that completely on this show. I’m not a stalker.
“I’ve not been to jail, I’ve not got injunctions, interdicts. This is just complete nonsense.”
What does Fiona think is true?
Fiona Harvey widely disputed the events depicted in Netflix’s Baby Reindeer during her chat with Piers Morgan.
But what does she believe is true?
The 58-year-old law graduate said: “It’s a work of hyperbole, as I’ve always said. And there are two true facts in that.
“His name is Richard Gadd, and he works as a jobbing barman on benefits, in the Hawley Arms. And we met, two or three times…”
Fact or fiction?
Fiona Harvey disputed many of the claims made in Baby Reindeer during her interview with Piers Morgan.
Take a look at some of her claims, versus what the hit Netflix show presents.
The numbers behind Baby Reindeer
Baby Reindeer has been a runaway success for streaming service Netflix, with millions tuning in to hear Richard Gadd’s tale.
Here are some of the key numbers behind the smash-hit show:
- The series topped Netflix’s charts in 30 countries
- 64 Percentage increase in viewers the show earned in its second week, compared to its first
- 97 The show’s percentage score on industry bible Rotten Tomatoes
- 41,071 Amount of emails Richard claims he was sent by the real-life Martha
- 13.3million viewers tuned into the show during its first week
When did Fiona first learn of Baby Reindeer?
Fiona Harvey learnt of Baby Reindeer before its runaway success on Netflix.
She explained that she first became aware of Baby Reindeer when Richard Gadd took it to Edinburgh Fringe Festival as a one-man show.
She said: “He’s come up with this character called Martha and he has put me right in the frame.
“This is a programme for the 20-somethings.
“The people with no lives, no jobs, whatever. I don’t want to be a celebrity.”
Fiona Harvey blasts ‘stalker’ claims
Last night Fiona called the fallout from the Netflix show “very defamatory, career-damaging”.
She told Piers on his Uncensored show on YouTube: “On the internet, sleuths tracked me down and hounded me and gave me death threats. I was forced into this situation.”
She described the abuse as “absolutely horrendous”, adding of Gadd: “I could not believe he’d done that. So long after the first meeting, we’re talking ten or 12 years ago. I think he’s got extreme psychiatric problems. It’s a work of fiction.”
She adds: “I’m not a stalker. This is just complete nonsense.”
What to know about the show
Baby Reindeer was inspired by the ordeal suffered by Scots creator and leading man Richard Gadd, 34.
The then-struggling comic, while working in a London bar, hands Martha a free cup of tea before things turn sinister.
The series claims she subsequently bombarded the barman with more than 41,000 emails.
She also over an alleged four-year campaign of terror.