Baby Reindeer star Richard Gadd cut a dejected figure as he stepped out with a friend in north London as controversy surrounding his shocking Netflix series continues to rage.
The actor, 35, was seen walking down the main street of his town days after the “real” Martha Fiona Harvey called him a “psychopath” in an explosive interview with Piers Morgan, after being portrayed as the stalker of Richard on the show.
The explosive interview has sparked a huge scandal as viewers branded the TV chat “highly irresponsible” and suggested Fiona Harvey “was exploited for its sensationalism and bad taste.”
Richard looked pensive as he headed to the capital with a friend, after gracing the BAFTAs red carpet with co-star Jessica Gunning on Sunday.
A month after Baby Reindeer aired, Fiona confirmed during her interview with Piers that the hit series is based on her, but denied harassing Richard, sexually assaulting him or attacking his girlfriend.
Baby Reindeer star Richard Gadd cut a dejected figure as he stepped out with a friend in north London as controversy surrounding his shocking Netflix series continues.
It comes after the “real” Martha Fiona Harvey branded him a “psychopath” in an explosive interview with Piers Morgan, after being portrayed as Richard’s stalker on the show.
The actor was seen walking down the main street of his town with a friend, a month after his controversial series hit Netflix.
Fiona Harvey had not previously been identified in reports about the Netflix series before her interview with Piers.
During the interview, she confirmed that she is the woman on whom Baby Reindeer’s character, Martha, is based, but denied harassing Richard, sexually assaulting him, or attacking his girlfriend.
She also denies having been arrested by the police or having gone to prison.
The show alleges the comedian’s stalker carried out a relentless campaign that began after he waited on her in a London pub while working as a bartender.
In the Netflix hit, Donny Dunn (Richard) offers Martha a free cup of tea at the house during their first meeting, which Fiona claims never happened.
The program alleges that Gadd was bombarded with 41,000 emails, 350 hours of voicemails, 744 tweets, 48 Facebook messages and 106 letters during the harassment campaign.
Fiona told Morgan this is “simply not true,” adding that she sent “less than ten” emails to Gadd and “one letter.”
During the interview, Ms. Harvey referenced a scene from the show where the character Martha admits to bullying Gadd’s character and receives a nine-month prison sentence.
The explosive interview has sparked a huge scandal as viewers branded the TV chat “highly irresponsible”.
Fiona Harvey had not previously been identified in reports about the Netflix series before her interview with Piers.
A month after Baby Reindeer aired, Fiona confirmed during her interview with Piers that the hit series is based on her, but denied harassing Richard.
The show alleges the comedian’s stalker carried out a relentless campaign that began after he waited on her in a London pub while working as a bartender.
“That is completely false, very, very defamatory of me, very damaging to my career,” he said.
“I wanted to completely refute that on this show: I’m not a stalker, I haven’t been to jail, I have no injunctions… it’s complete nonsense.”
Many viewers said the interview left them “disturbed,” calling it “painful” to watch.
But Piers has said he believed his show had fulfilled its “duty of care” by keeping in touch with her since the interview, as he revealed Fiona “wants an agent”.
He told Lorraine that he saw “no sign of anyone I thought was mentally ill,” but added that he believes she has “an obsessive streak” and that she “lied a lot in the interview.”
He also criticized the show’s attempts to anonymize Fiona, saying it was “disingenuous” of Gadd to ask fans not to look for the real person behind the character.
“I think it’s pretty fake as they’ve used segments of the exact messages she sent so any internet sleuth can go into them and find them on her phone.
“I think they failed in their duty of care to Fiona Harvey, especially Netflix,” he said.
Responding to criticism of the interview, she said: “I felt it was important that she be allowed to give her opinion as the media had already revealed that she was the real-life Martha, but she did not have the ability to tell her story. “.
Viewers previously took to social media to criticize Morgan for allegedly “exploiting” Ms Harvey.
But Piers has said he believed his show had fulfilled its “duty of care” by keeping in touch with her since the interview, as he revealed Fiona “wants an agent”.
Many viewers said the interview left them “disturbed,” calling it “painful” to watch.
Since the release of Baby Reindeer, Fiona has been posting regularly on social media protesting her innocence.
One user said: ‘Fiona Harvey’s fixed beliefs and delusions are clear signs of serious mental health issues for anyone working in this field. “It is clear that she is being exploited for financial gain.”
Another wrote: ‘It was very irresponsible to put Fiona Harvey on TV!’
Since the release of Baby Reindeer, Fiona has been posting regularly on social media protesting her innocence.
Since then, other alleged victims of harassment have come forward to share their own experiences with Fiona.
Richard himself previously asked people to stop speculating about the real identities of his show’s characters.
“I can’t confirm or deny anything related to the real-life people the characters in the show are based on,” he said when asked about the people claiming to be the stalker.