A Scottish woman named Fiona Harvey has posted a stream of posts on Facebook denying that she is Martha Scott, the stalker character in the new Netflix show “Baby Reindeer.”
“Can I just reiterate to Richard Gadd’s followers. I am not Martha. I am Fiona,” Harvey wrote on Facebook. “I have been informed by various different sources this morning that Richard Gadd’s supporters are still attacking me online. I am Nothing to do with his infernal plays I am not Martha.” She also wrote, “Might I also say with reference to richard gadd he and is supporters have been stalking me for days. I’ve spent hours znd hours with journalists and his stupid little firm.”
Fiona Harvey’s posts came after she was accused of being the Martha Scott character in The Scottish Sun and on social media. The Scottish Sun wrote that Harvey, 58, is the “real Baby Reindeer,” but she wrote on Facebook that she is not.
The real Martha Scott gave an interview to the Daily Record, but the site did not name her. The woman, who was pictured from behind in the publication, said she is the victim and fears online trolls. However, Harvey wrote on Facebook, “I cooperated with the daily record article when they phoned me on Thursday . . .” and acknowledged having met Gadd in the past.
“Baby Reindeer” was created for Netflix by comedian Richard Gadd. “A captivating true story,” the caption reads. Gadd’s website says the “true story” started as a one-man play. It features Gadd working as a bartender when he meets a law school graduate named Martha Scott, who soon starts sending him droves of emails and voice mails.
“Get ready for a series unlike any other — one that demonstrates how a single act of kindness leads down a twisty road paved with hundreds of hours of voice messages and north of 40,000 emails. Get ready for Baby Reindeer,” Gadd’s website says. “The story of Baby Reindeer centres on struggling comedian Donny Dunn’s (Gadd) strange and layered relationship with a woman named Martha (Jessica Gunning), whose initially friendly demeanour unravels as she begins to stalk Donny relentlessly.”
Harvey wrote on Facebook, “If I could just explain to Richard Gadd fans. Martha is not a real person. It’s Gadd bringing all the rape trauma he allegedly experienced into a show creating a fictional. Hyperbole woman called Martha. It’s like Batman Mickey Mouse whatever. These characters don’t exist in real Life. It’s been done to exorcise his demons primarily make money cos he’s greedy etc etc. It’s called horror fiction.”
Gadd acknowledged in an interview with Variety that “Baby Reindeer” is somewhat fictionalized.
“It’s all emotionally 100% true, if that makes sense,” he told Variety. “It’s all borrowed from instances that happened to me and real people that I met. But of course, you can’t do the exact truth, for both legal and artistic reasons. I mean there’s certain protections, you can’t just copy somebody else’s life and name and put it onto television. And obviously, we were very aware that some characters in it are vulnerable people, so you don’t want to make their lives more difficult. So you have to change things to protect yourself and protect other people.”
Here’s what you need to know:
Fiona Harvey Wrote on Facebook, ‘These Shows Are Not Real’ But Acknowledged Reporters Have Called Her About the ‘Baby Reindeer’ Series
In a stream of Facebook posts, Harvey has written about the “Baby Reindeer” show on her Facebook page. “It’s like eastenders and corrie people. These shows are not real lol” she wrote on April 26. “Not are many Netflix dramas. I hate to tell you this but Santa Claus isn’t real Either.”
Her Facebook page says she lives in London, England. On April 27, she denied accusations that she had a previous stalking incident.
She also wrote about the media, saying, “Robert at the sun called me yesterday. I asked him not to disclose my name for numerous different reasons . He probably did that for school boy reasons between the sun and daily record coming from the sun. His story however is a more accurate portrayal of events. I have yet to talk to robert.”
She wrote on Facebook that she has a boyfriend who is a lawyer. “Anyway I do hope richard gadd has a pleasant nights sleep with all his fluffy reindeers no doubt his mummy bought him,” Harvey wrote in one Facebook post.
In several posts, she mentioned the possibility of taking legal action, writing, “Netflix seem to be running scared of everyone’s lawyers re this richard gadd show.”
Harvey acknowledged previously meeting Gadd in another post. “I’ve never known gadd to buy anyone a pint or do anyone a favour. I met him Fleetingly years and years ago,” she wrote. In another post, she wrote that she had received death threats from “Richard Gadd supporters.”
Harvey also wrote, “Richard gadd was a jobbing barman in the hawley arms camden. I did know that. I used to live in camden and no longer do. The hawley arms was a haven of drink.” She added, “I am not martha have no criminal Convictions. Have not been to the hawley a rms for ten or twelve years. I am not interested in any aspect of richard gadds life.”
An X Page in the Name of Fiona Harvey Tagged Richard Gadd & Mentioned, ‘My Curtains Need Hung Badly’
@MrRichardGadd my curtains need hung badly
Online sleuths have also unearthed an X page in the name of Fiona Harvey that mentions Gadd. In 2014, the page wrote, “@MrRichardGadd my curtains need hung badly.” There is a curtains line used by Martha Scott in the “Baby Reindeer” show, according to a recap by Vulture.
Harvey has not tweeted on X since 2016. In 2015, the Fiona Harvey X page wrote, ” ian could you ask gadd to reply to my emails should be obliged. he said he would and forgot ta .need urgent meeting.”
The unidentified woman who spoke to the Daily Record said she fears being stalked herself because of the online attention. “Genuine women who are being stalked by partners will be horrified by this. We have people threatening to injure all sorts of women in all sorts of ways,” she told the publication.
The woman told Daily Record that people need to stop contacting her, saying, “These people need to get a life,” she said. “They need to do their housework, go and get a degree, get a job. I could be shot like one of those MPs that got shot. I don’t subscribe to Netflix but these people are binge-watching and living vicariously just as they did with the Johnny Depp trial. That is an obsession.”
She added, according to Daily Record, “Gadd has told people not to speculate but his fans seem to be picking on anyone. It has destroyed my entire week. I’ve had to cancel a number of meetings.”
According to TODAY, in a now-expired Instagram story, Gadd asked people to stop speculating about different characters in “Baby Reindeer,” including Martha Scott. “Hi Everyone, People I love, have worked with, and admire (including Sean Foley) are unfairly getting caught up in speculation,” he wrote, according to TODAY.com. “Please don’t speculate on who any of the real life people could be. That’s not the point of our show.”
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