Baby Reindeer’s real-life personality, Martha, is threatening legal action over the Netflix series in which she is depicted as a freewheeling pervert.
Scottish lawyer Fiona Harvey, whose name the Daily Record has previously chosen not to disclose, aims to enlighten everyone about her experiences since her identity was made public following the success of the series.
In an unexpected move, Harvey commented last night: “You have the right to name me at the Daily Record. I allow you to name me because people need to know what’s going on.”
READ MORE: Armed police swarm Springburn street and find ‘imitation firearm’ as man charged
READ MORE: XL Bully who attacked woman in Motherwell incident to be killed
The popular series features a character based on Harvey, 58, who was allegedly sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison before meeting comedian Richard Gadd. It’s also the most-watched series on Netflix right now, seeing Martha imprisoned for nine months as she torments Donny, a fictional representation of Gadd.
Harvey said: “I didn’t go to jail. I don’t know where four-and-a-half years and nine months came from. None of that happened. It’s a load of nonsense.”
Baby Reindeer reveals the alleged magic of Gadd’s infamous stalker. In the series, 38-year-old British actress Jessica Gunning plays Martha Scott, a Scottish woman in her 40s from Camden.
Harvey is now considering legal action against both the stand-up artist and Netflix.
He argued: “Gadd needs to prove that I went to prison, which didn’t happen. I was never sent to prison. That’s clear.
“First thing is the police will come to your door, then you will be accused, then you will go to court. Then you will be fined or imprisoned.
“This is all fabricated and exaggerated. There is no restraining order, precaution or ban anywhere. It is not possible. I have not called the police to my door regarding any of this.
“This is a load of nonsense. I don’t have any money, but I’m an extremely talented lawyer, so I’ll represent myself.”
Baby Reindeer was produced by Cykenwell Films, part of BBC Studios, and received worldwide recognition. Famous horror author Stephen King is a fan, comparing Martha to Annie Wilkes from the 1987 blockbuster novel Misery.
In the series, 34-year-old Gadd adopts the character of Donny Dunn. During her three-year ordeal, Martha bombards him with more than 40,000 emails, 350 hours of voicemails, 744 tweets, 46 Facebook messages and 106 pages of letters.
Interestingly, Netflix confirmed that the emails Donny received in the series were “real emails” he received from his follower; Even though Martha didn’t have an email, they all said “Sent from my iPhone.”
Harvey may have a reasonable case for defamation because people discovered his identity through a technique known as “jigsaw identification,” according to Rory Lynch, an attorney at Gateley Law Firm who specializes in defamation and privacy.
Using social media, online sleuths pieced together clues that revealed his identity, including a reference to the Baby Reindeer bar scene where Martha asks for help hanging her curtains, but that scene was met with a series of insinuations.
Detectives located a tweet from September 23, 2014, in which Harvey wrote: “@MrRichardGadd my curtains need to be hung badly.”
Harvey, a University of Aberdeen law graduate, will need to show that the allegations in the program are both false and cause him serious harm.
Lynch commented: “The only thing I can guess is that when Cykenwell, the films, the BBC and Netflix looked at it with their legal team, they thought they could rely on the fact that it was a drama. It wasn’t supposed to be a factual documentary.
“So even though Netflix says it’s a true story, it’s actually a dramatization of a true story.
“But I think Richard Gadd could have been a little more careful in changing many of the scenes to be more fictional, while also hiding the identities of the people the film is based on.”
Early in the series, Donny learns that Martha has been imprisoned after accusing a former employer and the employer’s husband of mistreating their deaf child.
More than two decades ago, Scottish lawyer Laura Wray took legal action over similar allegations made by Harvey against Laura and her late husband, Labor MP Jimmy Wray.
Laura claims Harvey falsely accused her and her husband of attacking their three-year-old son, who has a rare chromosomal disorder.
To join Glasgow Live’s WhatsApp community is here and get the latest news sent directly to your messages
Laura said: “We got a temporary restraining order. I don’t think he responded and I don’t think there was a full hearing afterwards because it worked to stop him coming near me.
“It was a long time ago and I haven’t heard from him since.
“I just watched the Netflix show and it’s pretty uncanny.”
Harvey, on the other hand, states that he lives in fear due to the impact of the series.
He stated: “Gadd and Netflix made it seem like a true story, and now a little guy in North Carolina who threatened to kill me believes it’s a true story. But I think you’d have to be really stupid to believe it’s true.”
The Record featured two exclusive interviews with Harvey last week. A decision was made not to disclose his identity out of a duty of care, but other newspapers named him without his consent.
As seen in several Facebook posts, she openly admitted that she is the real-life Martha in the Netflix series.
Harvey said last night: “Any trace of a normal life has vanished. “This is open season for me and this is my chance to speak out.
“Would it be better if I didn’t talk to anyone? No, I don’t think so. That’s why I also debunked the Laura Wray allegations on Facebook and I’m going to be on a big TV show soon so everyone knows who’s who. I am and at least they’ll hear the truth.”
“I think we can easily prove that I’m not a career criminal by saying I haven’t been to prison. I don’t have any criminal convictions.”