10 key moments from real-life Baby Reindeer Fiona Harvey’s interview
Baby Reindeer’s real-life ‘Martha’ last night told her side of the story and revealed her name is Fiona Harvey after she inspired Richard Gadd’s Netflix hit about him being stalked.
In a bombshell interview Ms Harvey, 58, said she only met the comedian three times, denied sending him 41,000 emails and claimed she has been in a relationship with a lawyer for the past five years.
The Scottish woman said she wanted to ‘set the record straight’ following the Netflix show’s global success, claiming she never sexually assaulted Mr Gadd, never attacked his girlfriend and only met him a handful of times.
MailOnline takes a look at the top 10 moments in Ms Harvey’s wide-ranging interview with Piers Morgan.
Fiona Harvey, 58, (pictured) on Piers Morgan Uncensored last night
Baby Reindeer has been a global success and follows ‘Martha’ (pictured, played by Jessica Gunning) as she stalks aspiring comedian Richard Gadd – who is called Donny Dunn in the show
1. Fiona Harvey denies sending Richard Gadd 41,000 emails
In the show, the character of Martha sends Donny (Richard Gadd) more than 41,000 emails, 744 tweets, 100 pages of letters and 350 hours of voicemails.
Ms Harvey denied reaching out to Mr Gadd more than a ‘handful’ of times, telling Piers: ‘That’s simply not true. If somebody was sending somebody 41,000 emails or something they’d be doing how many a day? Lots. Absolutely not.’
She added: ‘I didn’t write all the emails. I think he probably made them up himself, I have no idea. 41,000 emails!’
2. Ms Harvey admits she had a toy reindeer as a child
The show’s title, Baby Reindeer, comes from a nickname Mr Gadd’s stalker is claimed to have called him during her alleged stalking campaign.
Ms Harvey admitted she had a toy reindeer as a child, adding she knew the show was about her when she heard its title.
‘I had a toy reindeer,’ she said.
‘That bit is true. […] That’s a true fact.’
3. Ms Harvey admits sending Mr Gadd 18 tweets
The Scottish woman initially told Piers she couldn’t remember how many tweets she sent Mr Gadd, but recalled that she might have sent him a few.
When Piers said she actually sent as many as 18, Ms Harvey said: ‘I may have done years and years ago. It wasn’t numerous – it was about 18 tweets there or 14 tweets.
‘We were old friends. It was banter.’
Baby Reindeer’s ‘Martha’ has said her real name is Fiona Harvey in a bombshell Piers Morgan interview about Richard Gadd’s Netflix stalking drama
4. Ms Harvey claims she has a lawyer boyfriend
In the show, Martha often talks about how she knows high-powered people and has famous politicians such as Gordon Brown and David Cameron as contacts on her phone.
One scene shows Donny looking at her Facebook page to discover badly photoshopped images of Martha with the famous figures.
Ms Harvey told Piers she has been in a relationship with a lawyer for the past five years, but did not want to reveal who he was or where he is from.
When asked how she thought her ex and current boyfriends would perceive her now, she told Piers: ‘I’m not worried about the current one because he’s a lawyer. And he believes me.
‘Five years, five years. I don’t want to drag him in. He thinks this is horrendous. All of my lawyer friends do, all of my professional friends do. Other people do. People have been really sympathetic.’
5. Ms Harvey claims Mr Gadd asked her to sleep with him
In the show, Martha sexually assaults Donny after bumping into him by a canal and chasing him down the path.
Ms Harvey denied this scene ever happened in real life, and claimed she rejected Mr Gadd’s sexual advances when he asked her to sleep with him.
‘I gave him the brush off. He asked me to sleep with him, with a big green spot on his face one day. I said ”no I’m sorry I’m not interested” ‘, she said.
The chilling real-life drama was inspired by the ordeal suffered by Scottish creator and leading man Richard Gadd at the hands of ‘Martha’ (played by Jessica Gunning, right)
Baby Reindeer delves into Richard’s harrowing real-life stalking ordeal and brutal sexual abuse as he plays a fictionalised version of himself called Donny Dunn (pictured)
6. Ms Harvey denies not paying for anything in the pub
In Baby Reindeer, Martha gets away with not paying for anything by telling Donny ‘I can’t afford it’ – despite claiming to be a successful lawyer.
She often receives diet cokes on the house – which she never drinks – in order to stay at the pub to talk to Donny for longer.
Ms Harvey said she never got away with not paying, saying: ‘No absolutely not. This is sort of a depiction of me as a pauper who wouldn’t stand around or stand a drink. It’s nonsense.’
7. Ms Harvey claims she was never in love with Mr Gadd
The show often includes moments showing Martha confessing her love for Donny, including a scene when she sings him the lyric: ‘And then I go and spoil it all by saying something stupid like I love you.’
Ms Harvey dismissed Piers’ question about whether she was in love with Mr Gadd, saying: ‘Piers, is that a serious question? No, no.’
8. Fiona claims she only knew Mr Gadd for a few months
Despite the show claiming the pair knew each other for much longer – with Donny first going to the police after being stalked for six months – Ms Harvey said she only knew the comedian for a few months.
‘Two or three months. Two or three months at maximum. He only worked [at the pub] on certain days,’ she said.
9. Ms Harvey addresses death threats and claims she has never watched the show
Despite it being a phenomenal global success, Ms Harvey claimed she has avoided watching the show.
She added that she has been victim to ‘terrible’ death threats online, saying: ‘Some of the death threats have been really terrible online – people phoning me up. It’s been absolutely horrendous.
‘I wouldn’t give credence to something like that and it’s not really my kind of drama.’
10. Ms Harvey’s message to Mr Gadd now
When asked what Ms Harvey would like to say to Mr Gadd now, she said: ‘Leave me alone please, get a life, get a proper job, I am horrified at what you’ve done.’
Until now, the Mail has chosen not to identify her – instead withholding her name and pixelating her face, to protect her privacy. Now she herself has placed her real identity in the public domain, we will name her as Fiona Harvey.
