From their Scottish accent to their similar physical appearances, Baby Reindeer’s ‘Martha’ has undoubted similarities to Richard Gadd’s alleged real-life stalker Fiona Harvey.
Following the phenomenal global success of the show, comedian Gadd, who based the Netflix hit on his real life, said he did not want the true identities of his abusers to be revealed, adding that it is “not the point” of the series.
The show sees Gadd’s character Donny Dunn fall victim to a relentless campaign of harassment by ‘Martha’, which begins after he waited on her in a London pub while working as a bartender.
So far, the Mail has chosen not to identify the real Martha, instead hiding her name and pixelating her face to protect her privacy. Now that she has made her true identity public, we will name her Fiona Harvey.
Gadd previously made it clear that she changed names and specific story details to protect the identities of those involved, even stating that ‘Martha’ “wouldn’t even recognize herself” on the hit show.
But many viewers have taken to social media to criticize the show’s creators for casting an “identical” actress to play Gadd’s real-life stalker.
Netflix senior director of public policy Benjamin King was asked about the streamer’s duty of care regarding Baby Reindeer and whether he was concerned that the characters could be identified. He claimed that both Netflix and Baby Reindeer producer Clerkenwell Films took “all reasonable precautions to disguise the real identities of the people involved in that story.”
Since real-life Martha was revealed as Fiona Harvey, 58, in Piers Morgan Uncensored last night, MailOnline looks at some key parallels between the two women.
The 58-year-old alleged stalker appears on Morgan’s show
Viewers of the show took to social media to comment on the similarity between Martha and Fiona Harvey.
Similar physical appearance
After watching actress Jessica Gunning play her character in Baby Reindeer, Ms. Harvey said she felt insulted by her physical portrayal.
But there are some notable similarities between the two women, including their hair color and their “build.”
During last night’s interview, presenter Piers Morgan said: “I’ve never met you before, but you look and sound very similar to the actress in the drama.”
Mrs Harvey replied: “I haven’t seen the actress, we are both Scottish, we both have dark hair.” She is considerably younger than me; I think she is about 18 years younger than me.
When Piers commented on the “resemblance” between the two women, Mrs Harvey laughed: “Do you believe that?” That’s not flattering at all.
He added: “I mean people compare me to Lorraine Kelly, but I don’t look anything like Lorraine Kelly. It turns out we all have dark hair and we’re all Scottish.
Many viewers of the show took to social media to criticize Martha’s striking resemblance to Mrs. Harvey, saying it put the woman at risk.
‘What I don’t understand: Why make a show called Baby Reindeer, cast an almost identical actress and tell everyone it’s a true story if you feel sorry for her and don’t want people to find her and chase her? ‘ one person wrote.
Another said: “Piers Morgan’s baby reindeer thing is scary how similar she is to Martha.”
A third added: “I remember an interview with the writer of Baby Reindeer and she said that Martha’s character had changed so much that the person didn’t recognize herself. That’s true only because she’s delusional, they’re identical, scarily too and very dangerous for her.’
The chilling real-life drama was inspired by the ordeal suffered by Scottish creator and star Richard Gadd at the hands of ‘Martha’ (played by Jessica Gunning, right)
Scottish accent
Both Mrs. Harvey and the character Martha have a Scottish accent, although the real-life woman said there is a significant difference between the character’s accent and her own.
“I think the actress is from Glasgow, I think, but I’m not sure,” she said.
Ms Harvey said she is from the central belt, despite previous media reports claiming she was from Fyvie in Aberdeenshire.
Legal experience and high-powered contacts.
On the show, Martha calls herself a lawyer and often talks about how she meets high-powered people, with famous politicians such as Gordon Brown and David Cameron appearing as contacts on her phone.
One scene shows Donny Dunn (Richard Gadd) looking at his Facebook page to discover poorly photoshopped images of Martha with famous figures.
Baby Reindeer, Netflix’s extraordinary hit, has been viewed more than 60 million times in the last month
In last night’s interview, Ms Harvey claimed she has been in a relationship with a lawyer for the past five years, adding that she has other successful lawyers as friends.
The Scot also said she has a law degree from the University of Aberdeen, where she studied in the 1980s.
When asked by Piers about her title, Mrs Harvey said: “[I got] good grades. I’m not talking about being the best of the year or anything like that, but good grades.
“You ask me what grades I got in 13 subjects; I don’t remember.”
And he added: “I did well, I didn’t get first place of the year.”