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'Real life' Martha from Baby Reindeer's million-pound court battle: Fiona Harvey vows legal action against 'all those who have lied about me' and have caused 'untold damage' to her health and reputation
'Real-life' Baby Reindeer stalker Fiona Harvey today vowed legal action against 'all those who have lied about me' to make millions of pounds.
Ms Harvey issued an excoriating statement warning Netflix and the show's creator Richard Gadd she was coming for them in the courts.
She declared she was clearly the person depicted as sick stalker 'Martha' in their drama series which has taken the TV world by storm.
The seven-part miniseries, in which comedian Gadd, 34, plays the main character who is tormented by an older woman plaguing him with thousands of emails and phonecalls, is billed by Netflix as a 'true story' – yet it portrays 'Martha' as pleading guilty and being jailed for nine months which she says never happened.
Ms Harvey, 58, insists it is complete fantasy and therefore paints a 'dishonest and false picture of me', because it took internet sleuths no time to identify her as the real 'Martha' from the story.
Fiona Harvey, pictured here on Piers Morgan Uncensored last week, has vowed to take legal action against the creators of the Netflix show Baby Reindeer
Ms Harvey says the show, which features Richard Gadd and Jessica Gunning, makes false claims about her
Richard Gadd, who wrote and starred in the miniseries, pictured in norther London last week
Today, in a 500-word statement issued through leading barrister Chris Daw KC, who is assisting her, Ms Harvey said she was preparing 'legal action against all of those who have lied about me and used my image to make large sums of money for themselves, with such damaging consequences for me and my family'. The fallout had caused 'untold damage' to her health and reputation.
She said: 'No doubt Richard Gadd, Clerkenwell Films (who produced the programme) and Netflix have made millions of pounds from this programme, in large part by making so many claims that Baby Reindeer is a true story.
'I have no doubt that the character of 'Martha' in Baby Reindeer was intended to be a portrayal of me.
'The problem for Richard Gadd and now for Netflix is that Baby Reindeer is not a true story at all. I am not a 'convicted stalker'. I have never been charged with any crime, let alone been convicted, still less pleaded guilty and of course I have never been to prison for anything. This is how Gadd and Netflix chose to portray me in a TV show, for their own financial gain.
'Nobody ever approached me for any comment on the accuracy of Baby Reindeer, or the very serious and damaging allegation that I am a convicted criminal, with a serious criminal record, who has spent time in prison.
'Nobody ever asked for my permission to present me in this way or to use my image at all.'
Baby Reindeer has had 60million views on Netflix and achieved worldwide acclaim.
Written by Gadd, it depicts Martha as a chubby, middle-aged, curly-haired, Scottish female self-proclaimed successful lawyer obsessively stalking barman-cum-struggling stand-up comedian Donny, played by Gadd.
Over four and a half years, Gadd says he received 41,071 emails, 744 tweets, letters totalling 106 pages and 350 hours of voicemail messages from his stalker.
The seven-part miniseries, in which comedian Gadd (pictured) plays the main character who is tormented by an older woman plaguing him with thousands of emails and phonecalls, is billed by Netflix as a 'true story' – yet it portrays 'Martha' as pleading guilty and being jailed for nine months which she says never happened
Ms Harvey, 58, insists it is complete fantasy and therefore paints a 'dishonest and false picture of me', because it took internet sleuths no time to identify her as the real 'Martha' from the story. Pictured: Ms Harvey on Piers Morgan Uncensored (left) and actress Jessica Gunning (right) as Martha on Baby Reindeer
Despite Gadd and Netflix's insistence that the storyline does not reveal the stalker's true identity - Gadd previously claimed to have disguised his stalker's identity to such an extent that he said, 'I don't think she would recognise herself' - Ms Harvey was quickly exposed by armchair detectives and says she has suffered death threats and abuse from internet trolls.
In her statement, Ms Harvey pointed to a Netflix executive, Benjamin King, who told a parliamentary select committee last week that Baby Reindeer 'is obviously a true story' of Gadd's dealings with a 'convicted stalker'.
She said: 'My rapid identification as the 'real Martha' have caused untold damage to my health, my reputation, my job prospects and my ability to make sensible decisions about my welfare and best interests.'
Ms Harvey added: 'With the assistance of a senior English lawyer, Chris Daw KC, I am putting together a legal team, in the UK and in the US, to take forward legal action against all of those who have lied about me and used my image to make large sums of money for themselves, with such damaging consequences for me and my family.
'Chris is not formally retained on my behalf and will not be making any media statements of any kind, in relation to my position or any other media stories, until further notice.
'Once I have a legal team in place, I expect that they will make a further statement, setting out the next steps that I will be taking to deal with everything that has happened, as a direct result of the dishonest and false picture of me, painted in Baby Reindeer and in the media generally.'
Netflix, Gadd and Clerkenwell Films have been approached for comment.