‘Baby Reindeer’ real-life Martha claims how she really met Richard Gadd — and it wasn’t with free tea
The real-life Martha from “Baby Reindeer” did her first television interview to speak out against the alleged inaccuracies of the hit Netflix series.
Fiona Harvey, 58, appeared on “Piers Morgan Uncensored” and broke her silence on being the inspiration for the lead character (played by Jessica Gunning) in Richard Gadd’s show.
Harvey told Piers Morgan that she never stalked Gadd, 34, and slammed the series — which she still hasn’t seen — for being “completely untrue.” She claimed that her first encounter with Gadd didn’t happen as it was shown between Martha and Gadd’s character, Donny, on the show.
According to Harvey, Gadd did not offer her a cup of tea after she walked into the pub where he worked when they met.
“That’s not correct,” she said. “I was in for a meal with a drink of lemonade, and I was very, very hungry. I’m diabetic, so, very hungry. So that’s true.”
Harvey claimed that Gadd spoke to her first in the pub.
“He interrupted a conversation … he said, ‘Oh, you’re Scottish,’ and basically commandeered the conversation,” she alleged. “You know, I was talking to somebody. It’s pretty rich. So he seemed to be obsessed with me from that moment onwards.”
She also said about Gadd, “I got the impression that he was all out for himself. [He] wanted to sort of control that bar. Very, very inarticulate, very full of himself. I should never have gone in that bar.”
Throughout her interview with Morgan, Harvey cited multiple moments from the show that allegedly didn’t accurately explain her real-life experience with Gadd. For example, Harvey said she never caught Gadd peeping through her window, which transpired in one scene.
“I didn’t see him at my house. I think it would be impossible to look through a window … That categorically didn’t happen,” she claimed.
Harvey also did not harass Gadd by sending him over 40,000 emails and reaching out via voicemails, text messages, Facebook messages and letters, she claimed.
“That’s simply not true,” Harvey said. “If somebody was sending somebody 41,000 emails or something, they’d be doing how many a day? Lots.”
Read more about ‘Baby Reindeer’ subject Fiona Harvey’s exclusive interview with Piers Morgan:
When Morgan pressed Harvey on the topic of the harassing messages, she responded, “I don’t think I sent him anything. No, I think there may have been a couple of emails exchanging, but that was it. Just jokey banter emails.”
Harvey claimed she sent Gadd “less than ten” emails and “not 41,000.” She also denied she reached out to Gadd by text or on Facebook, though she did admit she messaged him on Twitter “about 18” times and sent him one letter.
One scene from “Baby Reindeer” showed Martha heckling Donny at his comedy show, but Harvey said that never happened in real life.
“Why would I do that? No, no, no. I don’t generally go to comedy shows,” she claimed.
Furthermore, Harvey denied attacking Gadd’s girlfriend. She also insisted she never sat for hours at a bus stop outside Gadd’s apartment alone, contacted his parents or was sentenced to prison for nine months for harassing Gadd.
“That’s completely untrue. Very, very defamatory to me, very career damaging,” she said about the series showing Martha go to prison in the finale. “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.”
While “Baby Reindeer” is a bonafide hit on Netflix and is garnering major Emmy buzz, Harvey — who has said she’s considering taking legal action against Gadd — still hasn’t watched the show.
“I think I’d be sick,” she told Morgan after he asked her if she’s “curious” about the series, adding, “It’s taken over enough of my life.”
“I find it quite obscene,” Harvey said. “I find it horrifying, misogynistic. Some of the death threats have been really terrible online. People phoning me up. 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.”
“Baby Reindeer” is streaming on Netflix.
