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The woman who is allegedly the inspiration for the controversial Martha character in Netflix drama Baby Reindeer is set to sue the streaming giant, citing defamation, negligence and violations of her privacy.
Fiona Harvey identified herself as the woman on who the character of Martha — a stalker who relentlessly pursues actor and creator Richard Gadd’s character — is based. Her lawsuit, filed in a court in California, claims Netflix told “brutal lies” about Harvey to millions of viewers. Ms Harvey is seeking $170m (£132m) in damages after claiming the show falsely depicts her as a criminal stalker who has served time in prison.
The show’s creator, Scottish comedian Richard Gadd, wrote Baby Reindeer about his alleged experience of being stalked by a woman he met at the pub where he had worked. Despite pleading with fans of the show to stop trying to identify the ‘real Martha’. Gadd is not named as a defendant in Fiona Harvey’s lawsuit.
Speaking to the BBC, Fiona Harvey said that she was certain to win the case or she “wouldn’t be doing it”. Ms Harvey claims she has received death threats and, per her lawsuit is “fearful of leaving her home or checking the news”.
Fiona Harvey spoke with Piers Morgan in an exclusive TV interview in April, confirming that she did know Richard Gadd from his time working in the pub. However she denied that she had acted like the character of Martha, who sends Gadd’s character 41,000 emails and leaves him hours of voicemail messages.