How Netflix's New 'Stalker' Series Inspired Real-Life Stalking By Fans: "It’s Been Horrendous”

Scottish comedian Richard Gadd's, Baby Reindeer, has garnered worldwide fans amassing nearly 60 million views in its first month on Netflix. As per Forbes, the chilling series is inspired by true events. Gadd portrays a fictitious version of himself as Donny Dunn, a struggling bartender and comic who is being pursued by an older woman named Martha. “She sends him 41,000 emails and hundreds of hours worth of voice messages. But it’s not your conventional stalker storyline,” actress Jessica Gunning, who played Martha, explained.

However, this has resulted in 'internet sleuths' finding out the whereabouts of the real Martha which presents a disturbing case, as per Vox. Fiona Harvey, the woman who claims to be the real stalker has decided to sue Gadd and Netflix for her portrayal. She recently appeared on Piers Morgan Uncensored to present her side of the story.

The creators of the series had previously advised fans not to play detectives online, “People I love, have worked with, and admire (including Sean Foley) are unfairly getting caught up in speculation,” Gadd posted on Instagram Stories, as per Deadline. “Please don’t speculate on who any of the real-life people could be. That’s not the point of our show.”

In an interview with GQ Gadd explained that the series wanted to draw light on mental illness. "Stalking is a mental dysfunction, it’s an illness and I wasn’t dealing with someone who felt calculated or insidious. I felt I was dealing with someone who was vulnerable, somebody who was mentally ill, someone who couldn’t stop because they believed what was in their head."

He further explained that the character of the female stalker had been carefully depicted avoiding any real-life resemblance. "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."

However, now that the internet has found the real 'Martha', she is unhappy with the unwanted attention. “I will be taking legal action against Richard Gadd and Netflix. We have instructed lawyers in part, but we want to explore all of the options out there. There are many people to sue,” she said while appearing on Morgan's show. 

As per The Independent, Harvey also denied sending Gadd numerous emails and messages. “I think he probably made them up himself,” Harvey claimed, adding that she had only sent him 'a handful'.

She admitted to having sent the young comedian "less than 10 emails" when Morgan pressed her for an exact number. She also stated that unlike her depiction in the series she had only a few encounters with the comedian and requested that he "leave her alone."

When asked if she had watched the series, Harvey replied, “Not at all. I’ve heard about the court scene, about the jail sentences and all this sort of stuff…I haven’t watched any of it.” She also claimed that she was the 'victim' instead, alleging that fans have been harassing her ever since her real identity was revealed. “It’s taken over enough of my life...I find it quite obscene. I find it horrifying, and misogynistic.

Some of the death threats have been terrible online. People phoning me up. You know, it’s been horrendous.” Harvey also refuted the claims that she is a 'stalker'. “It is completely untrue and very career-damaging. I want to refute that. I’m not a stalker. It’s just complete nonsense.”