PIERS Morgan has said he wants to interview Baby Reindeer creator Richard Gadd following his bombshell chat with the “real Martha.”
The Uncensored host appeared on ITV’s Lorraine this morning to discuss his interview with Fiona Harvey.
The ‘real-life Martha’ from hit show Baby Reindeer told Piers she is taking legal action against Richard Gadd and Netflix.
And towards the end of his interview with Lorraine, Piers called on Richard Gadd to appear on his Uncensored show to provide “evidence” of the events in Baby Reindeer.
Piers added that he feels streaming giant Netflix has “failed” to protect Fiona Harvey’s identity.
Read our Piers Morgan Baby Reindeer interview blog for the latest updates…
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‘If I wanted the real people to be found, I would’ve made a documentary’
Richard Gadd has once again called on internet sleuths to end their search for the real-life counterparts of Baby Reindeer characters.
Speaking to the Hollywood Reporter, Gadd said: “I’m called Donny Dunn. It exists in a sort of fictional realm; even though it’s based on truth, it exists in a fictional realm.
“Let’s enjoy the world that I’ve created. If I wanted the real-life people to be found, I would’ve made it a documentary.
“I’ve spoken publicly about how I don’t want people to do it and if I start playing a game of whack-a-mole, then I’m almost adding to it. I don’t think I’ll ever comment on it ever again.”
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Piers slams Netflix for ‘failing’ to protect ‘real Martha’
Speaking this morning, Piers Morgan slammed Netflix for “failing” to protect the identity of the so-called “real Martha” Fiona Harvey.
He said: “Internet sleuths typed parts of messages into her Twitter account and came up with the same phraseology.
“I think they [Netflix] failed in their duty of care to Fiona.”
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Fiona Harvey ‘has the right’ to tell her story, Piers says
Piers Morgan defended his decision to give “real Martha” Fiona Harvey a platform this morning.
Piers told Lorraine Kelly this morning: “She has a right to have her say and was happy to come on the show, I tried to be very fair and balanced and tried to get to the truth.
“I think she lied in the interview but is she a convicted stalker?
“The key point is, if she isn’t, then the Netflix claim at the start of every episode saying ‘this is a true story’ becomes problematic.”
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The numbers behind Baby Reindeer
Baby Reindeer has been a runaway success for streaming service Netflix, with millions tuning in to hear Richard Gadd’s tale.
Here are some of the key numbers behind the smash-hit show:
- The series topped Netflix’s charts in 30 countries
- 64 Percentage increase in viewers the show earned in its second week, compared to its first
- 97 The show’s percentage score on industry bible Rotten Tomatoes
- 41,071 Amount of emails Richard claims he was sent by the real life Martha
- 13.3million viewers tuned into the show during its first week
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What Fiona claims is true in Baby Reindeer saga
Fiona Harvey – who claims to be the inspiration for the Baby Reindeer character Martha – says there is only a handful of things true in the Netflix show.
The seven-part series, which premiered last month, was written by comedian Richard Gadd and purports to be based on his own personal experiences of being stalked and sexually assaulted.
Gadd, 34, plays a fictionalised version of himself – Donnie Dunn – but Harvey, who was ‘outed’ by internet sleuths within hours of the show being uploaded, is adamant the story is “completely untrue”.
The 58-year-old law graduate said: “It’s a work of hyperbole, as I’ve always said. And there are two true facts in that. His name is Richard Gadd, and he works as a jobbing barman on benefits, in the Hawley Arms. And we met, two or three times…”
On whether she said he looked like a ‘baby reindeer’ toy she had as a child, she added: “I had a toy reindeer and he’d shaved his head, that bit is true, and there were reindeer in the shops because it was Christmas time or something. It was a joke.
“So I have inadvertently penned the name of the show.”
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Gadd wished to highlight dangers of stalking
Richard Gadd opened up about how important it was for him to tackle the tough themes highlighted in the autobiographical series.
“When a man gets stalked, it can be portrayed in films and television as a sexy thing. Like a femme fatale who gradually becomes more sinister,” he told The Times.
He continued: “It doesn’t carry as much threat of physical violence, is less common and can be trivialised.
“I was physically scared because I didn’t know how far she could take it.”
He has admitted that some elements of the show have been dramatised to create added suspense.
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Harvey opens up about current relationship
Despite saying that she asked Piers Morgan to not bring up relationships, Fiona Harvey admits that she’s been in a relationship with a lawyer now for five years.
“I don’t want to drag him in,” she said about her partner.
“He thinks this is horrendous. All of my lawyer friends do. All of my professional friends do. Other people do.
“People are being really sympathetic,” she continued.
“People I don’t know are saying things like, ‘Are you getting hounded in the street?’ You know, people are being really, really nice, anyone who does know about this.”
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Fiona confessed she did say Gadd looked like a ‘baby reindeer’
Asked by Piers if Gadd offered her a free cup of tea at the pub, Fiona said: “No, that’s not correct. He didn’t offer me a cup of tea. I was in for a meal.”
She claimed Gadd actually barged in on a chat she was having with someone else in the pub.
Fiona told Piers: “He interrupted a conversation. He said, ‘Oh you’re Scottish’ and basically commandeered the conversation. I was talking to somebody. It’s pretty rich. He seemed to be obsessed with me from that moment onwards.”
However Fiona confessed she did say Gadd looked like a “baby reindeer”, which Martha does, as he resembled a toy she had as a child.
She said: “I had a toy reindeer and he’d shaved his head, that bit is true, and there were reindeers in the shops because it was Christmas. It was a joke, so I’ve inadvertently penned the name of the show.”
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‘I’m no technology whizz kid’
During the TV interview, Piers Morgan said the emails sent to Richard Gadd were sent from an iPhone but the sender had been “pretending it was an iPhone”.
In reply, Fiona Harvey said she could not have disguised where the emails were being sent from.
She said: “I don’t really understand that …”
Morgan: “Well, people can mask where they’re sending stuff from…”
Harvey: “Right, I’m not technology whizz kid of the year.”
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What does Fiona think is true?
Fiona Harvey widely disputed the events depicted in Netflix’s Baby Reindeer during her chat with Piers Morgan.
But what does she believe is true?
The 58-year-old law graduate said: “It’s a work of hyperbole, as I’ve always said. And there are two true facts in that.
“His name is Richard Gadd, and he works as a jobbing barman on benefits, in the Hawley Arms. And we met, two or three times…”
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Piers Morgan’s Netflix criticism
Piers also criticised how easy it was for sleuths to track down messages online.
He said: “Internet sleuths typed parts of messages into her Twitter account and came up with the same phraseology.
“I think they [Netflix] failed in their duty of care to Fiona.”
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Netflix’s claim could be ‘problematic’
The ex-GMB host said that although he believes Fiona was lying at points, he hasn’t seen any proof that she’s been convicted of stalking as the character was in the show.
Piers told Lorraine today: “She has a right to have her say and was happy to come on the show, I tried to be very fair and balanced and tried to get to the truth.
“I think she lied in the interview but is she a convicted stalker?
“The key point is, if she isn’t, then the Netflix claim at the start of every episode saying ‘this is a true story’ becomes problematic.
“Have they defamed her? If you accuse someone of being a convicted stalker and they are not, that is a pretty serious claim to make.”
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‘Richard Gadd has done an amazing job’
Piers Morgan has told Lorraine the one question he is still asking himself.
Piers said: “Richard Gadd has done an amazing job telling this story. But the key question after watching the series and watching my interview is, is it actually a true story?
“And the key part of that is did she actually go to prison? Is she a convicted stalker? As I sit here Lorraine, there is no actual evidence so far that she has ever been in court.
“So we have to wait and see.”
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‘I think she lied to me a lot’
Piers said that Netflix “have problems” as Fiona Harvey seems “determined” to have her day in court.
Piers claimed to Lorraine that he felt like Fiona Harvey had “lied” to him a lot during the interview.
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Netflix ‘failed’ in their duty of care
Piers Morgan claimed that Netflix have “failed” in their duty of care for Fiona Harvey as members of the public found it do easy to find her.
Piers added that he did think that Fiona Harvey had sent all of the messages.
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Piers ‘unaware of the scale’ of Baby Reindeer
Piers Morgan said he was “unaware of the scale” of Baby Reindeer.
Piers added that there is currently “no evidence” that Fiona Harvey had every been to court.
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‘What backlash?’
Piers Morgan is on Lorraine and ready to discuss the Baby Reindeer interview.
Ahead of his talk with Lorraine, Piers joked “what backlash?” as a teaser clip was released.
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Fiona Harvey denies convictions
Fiona Harvey denied any criminal convictions during her interview with Piers Morgan.
She said: “That’s completely untrue. Very, very defamatory to me, very career damaging. And I wanted to rebut that completely on this show. I’m not a stalker.
“I’ve not been to jail, I’ve not got injunctions, interdicts. This is just complete nonsense.”
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‘I’m no technology whizz kid’
During the TV interview, Piers Morgan said the emails sent to Richard Gadd were sent from an iPhone but the sender had been “pretending it was an iPhone”.
In reply, Fiona Harvey said she could not have disguised where the emails were being sent from.
She said: “I don’t really understand that …”
Morgan: “Well, people can mask where they’re sending stuff from…”
Harvey: “Right, I’m not technology whizz kid of the year.”
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Woman allegedly stalked by ‘real Martha’ is scared she‘ll ‘come for her again’
Laura Wray fears for her own safety after she was allegedly targeted by Baby Reindeer’s Fiona Harvey for five “hellish” years.
The widow of former Labour MP Jimmy Wray has spoken out after the fictional portrayal of the stalker on the hit Netflix show.
Laura said she had not thought about Fiona for years but watching her being interviewed by Piers Morgan last night had dragged up old feelings, she told the Mirror.
Laura said: “My partner and I are concerned about what she might do next. Is she going to come after me?
“She is posting things on Facebook accusing me of all sorts, and of being abusive. You don’t know where it will end.
“If she does have any friends, surely they should be trying to help her and calm things down. But she doesn’t want to calm things down. Part of her is really enjoying this. She even had a makeover for Piers Morgan.”
Fiona, originally from Fyvie, Aberdeenshire, denies that she harassed Laura and Jimmy and instead claims that Laura was a political rival of hers.
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What’s next for Richard Gadd?
Richard has already announced a new project for the BBC, Lions – which will tell the story of two estranged friends who find themselves back together after a chaotic wedding.
Richard said of the show earlier this year: “It’s time to take on a new challenge, I’m well up for it.
“It won’t be autobiographical like the previous eight years on Baby Reindeer have been.”
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Future of Baby Reindeer ‘confirmed’
Insiders have revealed that writer Richard Gadd, 35, will be moving away from the series, which tells his real-life stalking experience, after completing his press tour across the pond last week.
He and the cast flew to Los Angeles as the real life Martha, Fiona Harvey – portrayed by actress Jessica Gunning, 38, in the series – told her side of the story to Piers Morgan.
But despite fan speculation that Fiona’s side of the story could lead to a second series of the show, it’s been ruled out by those working closely with star Richard.
A source explained: “There are no plans to bring Baby Reindeer back for more, or for Richard to address Fiona’s interview in any follow up.
“He’s shared his story and there’s nothing more to add to what was included in the series already.”
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Piers Morgan to appear on Lorraine this morning
Piers Morgan will be on Lorraine’s morning ITV show to discuss Baby Reindeer.
Taking to X, Piers said: “I’m returning to ITV mornings! Well, for ten minutes anyway.
“I’ll be giving my first interview about our @PiersUncensored Baby Reindeer scoop to BAFTA queen @reallorraine tomorrow morning.”
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Is Baby Reindeer a true story?
Baby Reindeer has taken the world by storm since its release, with millions tuning in to follow the story of a comedian and his stalker.
The show opens with a message that reads: “This is a true story.”
It later adds: “This programme is based on real events: however certain characters, names, incidents, locations, and dialogue have been fictionalised for dramatic purposes.”
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What does Fiona think is true?
Fiona Harvey widely disputed the events depicted in Netflix’s Baby Reindeer during her chat with Piers Morgan.
But what does she believe is true?
The 58-year-old law graduate said: “It’s a work of hyperbole, as I’ve always said. And there are two true facts in that.
“His name is Richard Gadd, and he works as a jobbing barman on benefits, in the Hawley Arms. And we met, two or three times…”
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Allan Glen
