Interview with Martha in the real life of “Baby Reindeer”

Following the immediate success of its British import, “Baby Reindeer,” based on creator and star Richard Gadd’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival show, Netflix is ​​facing retaliation from one of the TV series’ real-life subjects.

The series presents Gadd as a version of himself — an alternative comedian working at a bar whose experiences with sexual assault bring him into conflict with a stalker he names “Martha.” Recently, the real “Martha”, a woman named Fiona Harvey, decided to reveal her identity in an interview with Piers Morgan. Although she denies participating in the behavior depicted in the series, she explained why she chose to make her identity public.

“On the Internet, detectives stalked me, stalked me and threatened my life,” Harvey said in the interview. “So it wasn’t really a choice. I was forced to find myself in this situation.

It’s interesting language considering the subject matter of Gadd’s show and his own decision to open up about being groomed and sexually assaulted by a mentor. Harvey, however, disagreed with Gadd’s characterization of his fate, stating: “I generally think he has extreme psychiatric problems…It’s a work of fiction.” It’s a work of hyperbole, as I’ve always said. And there are two true facts there. His name is Richard Gadd and he works as a paid barman at the Hawley Arms.

She later added: “Maybe he should look a little closer to home, to himself as a person who needs help… Yes, I think he always was . Whether there was an alleged rape or whether the rape was real or conceived in his mind, I think it would make him even sicker.

Despite Gadd’s sensitive manner in handling Martha’s presence and actions throughout the series, Harvey – despite claiming not to have watched the series – believes she has been unfairly maligned. Although she admits that she is the basis of the character, she denies having behaved as shown in the series.

Harvey later called the show “very, very defamatory of me, very damaging to my career.” And I wanted to completely disprove that on this show (“Piers Morgan”). I’m not a stalker. I did not go to prison, I did not receive injunctions, bans. This is simply absurd. »