“Baby Reindeer”'s Richard Gadd Claims Show Is Not About Fiona Harvey: She 'Identified Herself to the Press as Martha'
"While the Series is my emotionally true story as I recall and recount, it is not intended to depict any real persons," Gadd said
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Richard GaddRichard Gadd is clarifying where he got the inspiration to create Baby Reindeer.
In a 20-page declaration to support Netflix’s request to have Fiona Harvey’s defamation lawsuit against Baby Reindeer thrown out, Gadd explained his experience with Harvey — as well as his motivation for writing the hit show. He claimed that although the story depicts his personal experiences, it is “fictionalized.”
“While the Series is my emotionally true story as I recall and recount, it is not intended to depict any real persons,” he wrote. “Instead, I created fictionalized characters, including Martha and Donny, which were foils to aid my exploration of my own experiences and trauma. I intentionally used characters that did not share the actual names of any persons from my life and wrote fictionalized dialogue and scenes.”
Gadd continued, “Each of the characters from the Series has some imagined personality traits and events that I specifically selected to make them useful as dramatic devices.”
Ed Miller/Netflix
Richard Gadd (left) and Jessica Gunning (right)Gadd shared that he first wrote Baby Reindeer for a theater production as an “exploration of sexual abuse, manipulation, exploitation, obsession, sexual identity, self-loathing, self- destruction, and self-discovery.” Martha, played by Jessica Gunning, was a character and not a real person, he added.
“Although these stage productions were emotionally true and based on real events in my life, they dramatized people, places, things, and events to tell a story,” the comedian went on to say.
Gadd also detailed his experience with Harvey, saying that he worked at a pub when he first met Harvey and offered her a cup of tea on the house, sparking up a conversation about their similar accents.
“Following that first meeting, Harvey subsequently stalked and harassed me throughout 2014–2017,” the documents read. “She frequently appeared at the pub. It quickly became clear that she had memorised my shift pattern by hanging around the pub constantly. She would then arrive just before my shift started on most days I was working and sit at the end of the bar. She would also call the pub constantly on days when I was not working to check if I was in.”
Quickly, Gadd alleged that Harvey began to touch him “in inappropriate” and “sexual” ways that were unwanted, and others in the pub grew uncomfortable as well. She then obtained his personal contact information and would contact him “relentlessly” at all hours of the night, he wrote.
“Harvey sent me thousands of emails, hundreds of voicemails, and a number of handwritten letters,” he said. “These communications often included sexually explicit, violent, and derogatory content, hateful speech, and threats.”
Ed Miller/Netflix
Jessica GunningAfraid, the writer said he began to hide when Harvey was there in hopes that she would leave, particularly after reading online that she had allegedly harassed former Member of Parliament Jimmy Wray and his wife Laura Wray. He recalled one incident where he mentioned the Wrays and Harvey physically assaulted him.
“By this time, Harvey’s harassment had been plaguing my life for over two years,” per the documents. “I was fearful. I continually changed my daily routines to try to avoid her and would not spend time in parts of London I knew Harvey frequented (indeed I am still apprehensive about going to certain parts of London because of her). I could not sleep. When I did sleep, I would wake up in the night sweating.”
“I spent countless weekends noting down Harvey’s threatening voicemails,” he added. “I was panicked and paranoid. I was terrified about getting on tubes and buses for fear of seeing her. I genuinely was worried that she might harm me or my parents—my parents especially. In short, her actions took an extensive toll on my physical and especially my mental well-being.”
Eventually, Gadd said he took action with the police when her messages grew more sexually explicit. Despite law enforcement warning him Harvey’s behavior may worsen with legal action, Gadd decided to go through with it instead.
“I eventually obtained a First Instance Harassment Warning against Harvey. After I obtained that Warning, the emails and voicemails stopped,” he wrote. “But her behaviour did not stop completely. For example, Harvey sent me another handwritten letter along with some underpants. The letter stated ‘you’ve not unblocked your email . . . so have not checked my emails. Here are some lucky [under]pants.’”
Rodin Eckenroth/WireImage
Richard GaddRelated: The True Story Behind Baby Reindeer: Where Is Martha Now?
Following this depiction of events, the filing concluded with Gadd stating Harvey was the one who “identified herself to the press as Martha,” as he never made a connection between the fictional character and his real-life stalker.
“I understand that she claimed that she was the inspiration for the Martha character, and that she never sent me thousands of emails nor left me any voicemails,” it read. “She harassed and stalked me over the years, and since her interview [with Piers Morgan], other individuals have contacted me through my agents and publicists and said they were also harassed by Harvey, but all were too scared of her to come forward.”
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All seven episodes of Baby Reindeer are available to stream on Netflix.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.
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