'Baby Reindeer': 'Real-Life' Martha Speaks Out in First TV Interview

Fiona Harvey, who says the female lead in the Netflix series was based on her, spoke to Piers Morgan.

A woman who claims to be real-life inspiration for Martha in Netflix's hit limited series, Baby Reindeer, has come forward a month after the Richard Gadd-written project first hit the platform. 

On Wednesday, British media personality Piers Morgan announced that after weeks of fan investigations into the show, he would be sitting down with Fiona Harvey, a woman who claims she is the woman behind the mystery which has captivated audiences around the world. 

"The real-life Martha from Baby Reindeer breaks cover and gives me her first TV interview about the smash hit Netflix show. Fiona Harvey wants to have her say & 'set the record straight.' Is she a psycho stalker? Find out tomorrow on ⁦@PiersUncensored," Morgan, 59, wrote in a social media post. 

Along with the teaser message, Morgan shared a photo with Harvey, 58, who bares a strong resemblance to Jessica Gunning, the actress who portrays Martha in the show. 

During the interview, Harvey said she decided to come forward because she claims "the internet sleuths tracked me down and hounded me and gave me death threats, so it wasn't really a choice. I was forced into this situation."

Harvey noted that she hasn't watched the show because she'd "be sick" if she did.

"I find it quite obscene. I find it horrifying, misogynistic," she said, alleging that "some of the death threats have been really terrible online. People [are] 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."

Upon finding out about the Netflix series, Harvey said she felt "absolutely horrendous," noting, "I couldn't believe this had happened."

"It's a work of fiction. It's a work of hyperbole, as I've always said... There are two true facts: His name is Richard Gadd and he worked as a barman," Harvey said of the show, claiming that she recalls meeting Gadd a few times.

During their first alleged meeting, Harvey claimed of Gadd, "He interrupted a conversation. There was another barman there. He said, 'Oh, you're Scottish,' and basically commandeered the conversation. I was talking to somebody [else]. It's pretty rude to interrupt. He seemed to be obsessed with me from that moment onward."

As for the allegations that she sent loads of communication to Gadd -- emails, tweets, and handwritten letters -- Harvey initially said, "That's simply not true."

While Harvey at first claimed she didn't send Gadd "anything," she went on to claim that she sent him "a couple of emails," some tweets and one handwritten letter. She then noted that "even if the email thing is true, the rest is not."

Harvey denied heckling Gadd at his standup show, though she said she did go to one of his performances. Harvey also said that, though the character in the show attacks Gadd's girlfriend and parents, and visits his home, none of that occurred in real life, because she didn't know where he lived.

On top of that, Harvey insisted, that, unlike the character in the show, she has never been charged with a crime or been to jail.

"I'm not a stalker," she said. "I've not been to jail... It's just complete nonsense."

As for why she believes Gadd made the show, Harvey said that she thinks he has "got extreme psychiatric problems" and had monetary motives.

"He'd failed as a comedian, he'd failed as an actor, so therefore, let's make some money, sell this to Netflix," she said. "... I would challenge him to leave me alone... Get a life. Get a proper job. I am horrified at what you've done."

Moving forward, Harvey said she's gearing up to sue Netflix and Gadd, and is prepared for all of the evidence to come out in discovery as a result.

"He's a liar," Harvey insisted of Gadd at the end of the interview. "And my friends say likewise."

ET has reached out to both Gadd and Netflix for comment on Harvey's interview.

Mirrorpix / MEGA

The sit-down interview with Morgan comes as Gadd and Netflix have both shared statements in recent days regarding the care and consideration that went into protecting the true identity of the show's subject and portraying her as a disturbed but not malicious individual. 

During a For Your Consideration panel on Tuesday evening, Gadd said of the real-life Martha, per The Hollywood Reporter, "I never saw someone who was a villain. I saw someone who was lost by the system, really. I saw someone who needed help and wasn’t getting it."

Additionally, Netflix's policy chief, Benjamin King, recently sat before a U.K. Parliament hearing, where he testified that Gadd and the streaming service had taken "every reasonable precaution in disguising the real-life identities of the people involved in that story," per Deadline

Jessica Gunning as Martha in 'Baby Reindeer' - Netflix

Previously, Gadd stated in an April profile with GQ that he was unsure of how the real-life Martha would react to the show and, in a perfect world, she wouldn't even know the show was about her.

"We've gone to such great lengths to disguise her to the point that I don’t think she would recognize herself. What's been borrowed is an emotional truth, not a fact-by-fact profile of someone," he said. 

Richard Gadd and Jessica Gunning in 'Baby Reindeer' - Ed Miller/Netflix

Prior to Morgan's interview Harvey, Gadd had made numerous pleas with fans and followers to not seek out real-life identities of his characters after the show -- which was originally an Olivier Award-winning play in London -- was released on Netflix. 

"Hi Everyone, People I love, have worked with, and admire (including Sean Foley) are unfairly getting caught up in speculation," he wrote in an Instagram Story in April, per Today. "Please don't speculate on who any of the real life people could be. That's not the point of our show."

Nava Mau in 'Baby Reindeer' - Ed Miller/Netflix

Since hitting the streamer on April 11, the seven-episode series has amassed some 54 million and has been Netflix's top English-language show for three weeks straight. 

Watch the trailer for Baby Reindeer in the player below: 

All seven episodes of Baby Reindeer are now streaming on Netflix. 

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