Baby Reindeer's Real Martha: Who is Fiona Harvey?

The Baby Reindeer series, directed by Scottish comedian Richard Gadd, whom Stephen King described as "one of the best things I've ever watched," was released on Netflix on April 11, 2024. The series, which spread by word of mouth in a short time and became one of the hit productions of the platform, attracted additional attention because it contained autobiographical elements from Richard Gadd's life.

Viewers took action to find out who Martha Scott, who was chasing Gadd's character Donny Dunn in the production, was in real life. After a short internet search, it was claimed that Fiona Harvey was Martha, and a lot of information about Harvey began to be shared on social media platforms.

Baby Reindeer is a British black comedy drama-thriller television miniseries created by and starring Richard Gadd, adapted from Gadd's autobiographical one-man show. Directed by Weronika Tofilska and Josephine Bornebusch, it also stars Jessica Gunning, Nava Mau and Tom Goodman-Hill. The series consists of seven episodes, which all simultaneously premiered on Netflix on 11 April 2024. It received critical acclaim and has had strong viewership on the platform.

Fiona Harvey, the real Martha of the series, appeared on journalist Piers Morgan's show and said that she did not send anything to Richard Gadd, she might have just sent a few emails.

Gadd, on the other hand, stated in an interview in April that he made changes to some points of the series and said, "I was seriously followed and seriously harassed. But we wanted it to exist in the field of art and to protect the people on whom it is based."

Fiona Harvey denies the allegations against her. She even accuses the streaming giant Netflix of insult, negligence, and moral damage. According to the news in the Guardian, Fiona Harvey filed a $170 million lawsuit against Netflix.

The following statements were made in the case file:

'Lies about Harvey include that Harvey was a twice-convicted pervert and sentenced to five years in prison and that Harvey sexually assaulted Gadd. Because it was a better story than the facts, and better stories make money. Netflix did nothing to verify the true story Gadd told.'

What is told in the series?

Baby Reindeer is a seven-episode mini-series created by lead actor and screenwriter Richard Gadd, based on his own life story. Gadd, who calls himself Donny Dunn in the series, tells the audience about a five-year period of his life that turned upside down when he offered tea to Martha, who came to the bar where he worked one day. Or at first glance, we think he did. Martha mistakes this naive interest and sincerity for love and follows Dunn. Over the course of nearly two years, she sent her a total of 41,000 e-mails, left hundreds of voice messages, stood guard in front of her house, threatened her family and friends, embarrassed her at the bar where he worked, at the nightclub where he performed stand-up, and physically assaulted his girlfriend. Events escalate inexorably and eventually, with the police taking the matter seriously, Martha is brought to court confesses her crime, and is sentenced to 9 months in prison. At least that's what we watch in the series.

“This is a true story”

The most important question in mind is this: Is this a true story, or is it "a fiction inspired by a real event, in which characters and events are dramatized", as we see in many TV series and movies? If it's so real, why isn't it a documentary? I thought a little about the phrase “This is a true story”, we see a lot on our televisions, “Inspired by real events, adapted from a real-life story”. As you know, we watch two-and-a-half-hour episodes every week, perhaps based on the story of just one of the characters we watch. Even though we can fill in some gaps in our minds, they say words fly away and writing remains. I think we will understand what makes a statement a statement and initiates the legal process during the litigation process.

There is also a situation like this: Richard Gadd constantly puts the blame on himself when describing the actions of the character Martha. It portrays a character who thought, until the last second, that he too might have some righteous sides and reasons. That's why we can't sit back in our seats and blame a single person, we constantly put ourselves in Gadd's (or Donny's) shoes and ask, "How would we act if it happened to us?" We find ourselves thinking.

What's next for Baby Reindeer?

Meanwhile, Baby Reindeer won the Best New Miniseries award at the Gotham Awards held recently. There is no doubt that we will often hear the names of the series and its actors, especially Jessica Gunning, who plays the character of Martha, during the upcoming awards season. Netflix, the producer of the series, which reached 22 million viewers and 87.4 million hours of viewing time as of May 1, announced that they will stand behind this work and Richard Gadd until the end, with the news of Harvey's lawsuit. It wouldn't be surprising if they found a way to clear themselves through the tiny print of the legal system, or if they immediately paid Harvey the money he wanted. But it seems that a new series scenario is being uploaded in which we will watch the court process; Maybe it's a documentary, maybe it's inspired by real events, we'll wait and see.