Baby Reindeer star Richard Gadd finally responds to Piers Morgan's Fiona Harvey interview
Richard Gadd has shared a statement in a court filing in relation to Fiona Harvey's lawsuit against Netflix for the depiction of her character 'Martha' in the hit show Baby Reindeer.
MORE: Baby Reindeer's 'real Martha' criticises Piers Morgan after interview
In the court filing, Richard said that the show was "emotionally true" while adding that he struggled with years of "extremely upsetting" stalking from Harvey, who is suing Netflix for defamation.
The statement read: "I have personal knowledge of the facts set forth below and, if called as a witness, could and would testify competently thereto. I submit this declaration in support of defendants Netflix, Inc., and Netflix Worldwide Entertainment, LLC’s special motion to strike.”
MORE: Baby Reindeer's 'real Martha' Fiona Harvey sues Netflix for £132m
He went on to describe the stalking incidents, claiming that Harvey followed him around London, memorised his shift pattern at work and sent him a barrage of "deeply unpleasant communications". He claimed that she would act "handsy" with him during his shifts.
In one instance, as in the show, Gadd revealed that he asked her about a news report that he had read about her stalking an MP and his partner, writing that she physically confronted him, shoved him and said his mouth would get him "into trouble". He wrote: "I remember quickly apologizing out of fear she was going to hit me, as well as embarrassment at the fact a number of customers nearby were looking over."
While Harvey claimed that she had never been convicted of a crime, despite the show depicted 'Martha' as having been convicted twice as a stalker, Gadd stated that he went to the police repeatedly about the incidents, and Harvey was issued a First Instance Harassment Warning.
Netflix has also given the court declarations from the former general manager of the Hawley Arms pub, Craig Seymour, as well as Laura Wray, the lawyer who Harvey previously stalked, who received an 'interim interdict' from her, which is the equivalent on a restraining order.
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He added: "I never intended the Series to identify any real person as Martha Scott, including Harvey. Martha Scott is not Fiona Harvey. Like all characters in the Series, Martha is a fictional character with fictional personality traits that are very different than Harvey’s."
Speaking about Harvey's interview with Piers Morgan, he continued: "I was surprised that Harvey appeared on Piers Morgan Uncensored. Though I have only watched certain segments, I understand 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.
"She harassed and stalked me over several years, and since her interview, 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."
