NETFLIX has broken its silence on Baby Reindeer, insisting it has taken every precaution to keep the identity of the real stalker a secret.
Fiona Harvey – who claims to be the inspiration for the obsessive Martha character – has spoken Piers Morgan Uncensored, and the interview airs tonight.
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The hit miniseries claims to be a true story based on writer and star Richard Gadd's experiences of being stalked and sexually assaulted.
Harvey was 'outed' within hours of the show's premiere Netflix last month by internet sleuths.
Speaking indoors parliamentPolicy chief Benjamin King said Netflix and Clerkenwell Films – which made the show – “took every reasonable precaution to conceal the real identities of the people involved in that story.”
SNP MP John Nicolson, member of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, added that the efforts had not stopped fans from finding Harvey online.
Mr. King responded that Netflix had to strike a balance between protecting identities and maintaining the show's “truthfulness and authenticity.”
“We didn't want to anonymize that or genericize it to the point where it was no longer his story because that would undermine the intent behind the show,” the senior director of public policy said.
'Ultimately, it is of course very difficult to control what viewers do, especially in a world where everything is amplified by social media.
“Personally, I wouldn't feel comfortable in a world where we decided it was better for Richard to be silenced and not allowed to tell the story.”
Gadd encouraged fans not to try to discover the characters' real-life counterparts – emphasizing that the Martha inspiration is a victim and has been failed by the system.
What is baby reindeer?
WITH its gripping plot about stalking, Baby Reindeer has got everyone talking.
The Netflix series follows a man who is mercilessly watched by an obsessed woman, leaving fans wondering how true the show is.
The gripping plot of the seven-part series is based on Scottish comedian and leading man Richard Gadd's real-life experience with having a wife stalker.
He initially turned his traumatic story into a critically acclaimed play, before Netflix turned it into a series of the same name.
Like the plot of Baby Reindeer, Richard's stalking nightmare began with a chance meeting at the pub where he worked.
The unnamed woman showed up at his home and workplace, sending him thousands of emails and voicemails.
Ultimately, it became a harassment case that lasted more than four years.
The real Martha – whose name Gadd has never revealed – is now legally required not to approach him or his friends or family.
However, fans of the show quickly found Fiona Harvey to be an inspiration and she confirmed it, despite labeling the show as full of lies.
However, Harvey, 58, has since come out to confirm that she is the woman Gadd claims harassed her.
The writer – who plays a fictionalized version of himself named Donnie Dunn – said fan investigations have led to people he has worked with being wrongly accused of being a producer he says he sexually abused.
Gadd wrote on his Instagram page how “people I love, have worked with and admire” were unfairly attacked.
He added: “Please don't speculate about who real people might be. That's not the point of the show.”
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