Baby Reindeer makers owe real-life stalker Fiona Harvey an apology, declares TV regulator as she launches legal action
NETFLIX owes Baby Reindeer’s real-life stalker Fiona Harvey an apology, a TV regulator has declared as she launches legal action.
A consultant to Ofcom told an industry panel he has “no idea” how the streamer was able to “justify” how the smash hit was produced.
Harvey has filed for damages of some £39m over defamation, negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and violations of right of publicity.
Creator Richard Gadd based his fictional stalker Martha on his own interactions with Harvey.
Speaking at an RTS event on Tuesday, Duane Dedman said: “On Baby Reindeer the short answer is I have no idea how Netflix can justify saying this is a true story and then at the end of the end credits say something like, some scenes were fictionalised and the characters conflated.
“That’s obviously seen as contradictory and we shall see if the court case in America ever goes to trial or whether they settle out of court.”
Asked if he felt Netflix should answer to Harvey, he added: “Personally, arguably, yes [Netflix do owe Fiona Harvey an apology] but I guess this will play out in the courts.
“And I guess Netflix are deliberately being tight-lipped about this because perhaps they have a robust case to rebut her claims.
“Now, all I know about Netflix is there are a team of lawyers there, there is a compliance team there, so someone, more than once will have cast their eyes over the script and the final programme.
“I literally can’t second guess as to why they came to that decision, so I don’t want to go there, but I guess this will play out.”
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Baby Reindeer by numbers
The Netflix series has become quite the breakout smash hit...
- 7 Number of episodes in the series
- 30 Number of countries the series has topped the Netflix chart in
- 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
- 13.3 million Number of viewers who tuned into the show during its first week
The Sun has told how Harvey also stalked Labour leader Keir Starmer and politician George Galloway.
Dedman, who is a broadcast compliance expert, explained the streamer operates under a Dutch regulator whose codes “aren’t as prescriptive or onerous.
Baby Reindeer was billed by Netflix as a true story and Harvey alleges in the newly-filed lawsuit that she has been harassed by people across the world because of the series and failures by Netflix to sufficiently protect her identity.
The 58-year-old accuses the streaming giant of ruining her reputation with their depiction of Martha, arguing in the legal documents that she never stalked or sexually assaulted Gadd - as portrayed in the seven-part series, and was not handed a criminal conviction for stalking.
A Netflix spokesperson said: “We intend to defend this matter vigorously and to stand by Richard Gadd’s right to tell his story.”