How Baby Reindeer compares to real-life 'Martha' Fiona Harvey's version of events: From it all starting over a free cup of tea to 41,000 emails and heckling at a comedy show
- Fiona Harvey, 58 from Scotland, joined Piers Morgan on Uncensored last night
- She alleges she is the 'real' Martha from the hit Netflix show Baby Reindeer
Piers Morgan's bombshell interview with the 'real' Martha from Baby Reindeer has left most viewers with more questions than answers.
Fiona Harvey, a 58-year-old Scottish woman and allegedly the 'real' Martha, slammed her depiction in the hit Netflix series last night saying 'It's a work of fiction', while insisting 'I'm not a stalker'.
The seven-part mini series, which states at the start of each episode: 'This is a True Story', was written by and stars Richard Gadd. It details how his character, Donny, deals with a failing comedy career and obsessive stalker, Martha.
The dark and twisted show was an instant hit with more than 60million views in its first month.
Until now, the Mail has chosen not to identify Ms Harvey - instead withholding her name and pixelating her face, to protect her privacy.
Now she herself has placed her real identity in the public domain, we will name her.
Following on from the interview, MailOnline has highlighted how the two versions compare.
![Graph comparing the two stories between the Netflix show (left) and Fiona Harvey (right)](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/10/14/84704711-13403165-image-a-121_1715347313320.jpg)
Graph comparing the two stories between the Netflix show (left) and Fiona Harvey (right)
![Piers Morgan's bombshell interview with the 'real' Martha from Baby Reindeer has left most viewers with more questions than answers](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/10/10/84699177-13403165-image-a-65_1715333161696.jpg)
Piers Morgan's bombshell interview with the 'real' Martha from Baby Reindeer has left most viewers with more questions than answers
Was Gadd ever called baby reindeer?
In the TV series, Martha was sat at the pub where Donny works when she says for the first time that he reminds her of a baby reindeer.
The nickname stuck and is used repeatedly throughout the show in fits of anger and love against his character.
At the end of the final episode, it is revealed that the reason Martha uses this name is because she used to have a baby reindeer toy as a child, which was described as the 'only good thing' about her childhood.
Last night Fiona Harvey confirmed that this is true, despite claiming she only said it as a joke.
'Yes I had a toy reindeer, and he [Gadd] had shaved his head and there were reindeers in the shops, it was Christmas time, but it was a joke.
'So I have inadvertently penned the name of the show. But that is a true fact.'
![At the end of the final epsiode, it is revealed that the reason Martha uses this name is because she used to have a baby reindeer toy as a child, which was described as the 'only good thing' about her childhood](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/10/12/84703103-13403165-image-a-91_1715340477356.jpg)
At the end of the final epsiode, it is revealed that the reason Martha uses this name is because she used to have a baby reindeer toy as a child, which was described as the 'only good thing' about her childhood
How did they meet?
The show claimed that Martha came into the pub where Donny was a barman and in a moment of sympathy towards this stranger he offered her a free cup of tea - inadvertently sparking the obsession.
But in Ms Harvey's version of events, she agreed she was in the pub but claimed she was having a meal with someone else and Gadd started up a conversation with her after finding out she was Scottish.
'No, that's not correct. He didn't offer me a cup of tea… I was in for a meal with, a drink of lemonade, and I was very, very hungry. I'm diabetic, so, very hungry. So that's true.'
'He interrupted a conversation… he said, 'Oh, you're Scottish', and basically commandeered the conversation. You know, I was talking to somebody. It's pretty rich. Interrupt. So he seemed to be obsessed with me from that moment onwards.'
![The show claimed that Martha came into the pub where Donny was a barman and in a moment of sympathy towards this stranger he offered her a free cup of tea - inadvertently sparking the obsession](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/10/12/84702483-13403165-image-a-73_1715339108474.jpg)
The show claimed that Martha came into the pub where Donny was a barman and in a moment of sympathy towards this stranger he offered her a free cup of tea - inadvertently sparking the obsession
'Can I hang your curtains?'
This sexual innuendo is a very poignant moment in the show when Martha's fascination with Donny shifts up a gear into a full obsession.
Surrounded by his friends at the pub, Donny is being peer-pressured into asking Martha out on a date. In an attempt to deflect from the situation, he jokingly says instead 'can I hang your curtains?'
Well, Ms Harvey has agreed that this did actually happen, however claimed it was just a regular joke down at the local pub.
'This was a Hawley Arms joke about about curtains and a lot of sexual innuendo,' she said, adding but 'yes [he did say that]'.
How many messages?
41,000 emails, 350 hours of voice messages, 744 tweets, 48 Facebook messages, and 106 letters, is what Netflix alleges Ms Harvey bombarded Gadd with.
Yet, her response on Uncensored didn't even scrape the surface of this total.
'That's simply not true. If somebody was sending somebody 41,000 emails or something, they'd be doing how many a day? Lots.'
She later said she probably sent 'less than ten' emails and 'one letter'.
Adding: 'None of that's true. I don't think I sent him anything… No, I think there may have been a couple of emails exchanging, but that was it. Just jokey banter emails.'
When Piers Morgan pressed her on specifics, she denied ever texting him or sending him Facebook messages, and suggested she probably sent 'about 18 tweets'.
![41,000 emails, 350 hours of voice messages, 744 tweets, 48 Facebook messages, and 106 letters, is what Netflix alleges Ms Harvey bombarded Gadd with](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/10/10/84699303-13403165-image-a-64_1715333150037.jpg)
41,000 emails, 350 hours of voice messages, 744 tweets, 48 Facebook messages, and 106 letters, is what Netflix alleges Ms Harvey bombarded Gadd with
![Yet, her response on Uncensored didn't even scrape the surface of this total, claiming 'that's simply not true'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/10/12/84702491-13403165-image-a-90_1715340178237.jpg)
Yet, her response on Uncensored didn't even scrape the surface of this total, claiming 'that's simply not true'
Does she know Richard Gadd?
Despite the show being set over a three year period and their twisted and complex relationship developing over that time, Ms Harvey claims she barely knows Gadd.
Netflix shows Martha going into the pub where Donny worked nearly everyday, sitting outside his house at the bus stop for hours on end and even gate-crashing his live comedy shows.
Yet Ms Harvey said she probably only met Gadd 'two or three times' and was adamant that she had never been to his home.
She said: 'No, I don't know where he lived. No. Absolutely no… This is a fictional character. Hyperbole, exaggeration. This is a fiction. It's based on his imagination.'
![Netflix shows Martha going into the pub where Donny worked nearly everyday, sitting outside his house at the bus stop for hours on end and even gate-crashing his live comedy shows](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/10/10/84699285-13403165-image-a-62_1715333074474.jpg)
Netflix shows Martha going into the pub where Donny worked nearly everyday, sitting outside his house at the bus stop for hours on end and even gate-crashing his live comedy shows
Did she heckle him at a comedy show?
Martha heckles Donny on two separate occasions in the show. One time early on, it works in his favour as he uses her jeers during the performance to get a few cheap laughs from the crowd.
However, the second time ends with Martha being forcibly dragged out of the theatre and leads to Donny having a break down on stage.
Although Ms Harvey accepted that she went to a show 'a long long time' ago, she argued that she never shouted out during a performance.
Adding: 'Why would I do that?'
![Martha heckles Donny on two separate occasions in the show. One time early on, it works in his favour as he uses her jeers during the performance to get a few cheap laughs from the crowd](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/10/12/84702469-13403165-image-a-71_1715339045517.jpg)
Martha heckles Donny on two separate occasions in the show. One time early on, it works in his favour as he uses her jeers during the performance to get a few cheap laughs from the crowd
![However, the second time ends with Martha being forcibly dragged out of the theatre and leads to Donny having a break down on stage. Pictured: The crowd watching Donny have a mental breakdown on stage](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/10/12/84702447-13403165-image-a-70_1715339029011.jpg)
However, the second time ends with Martha being forcibly dragged out of the theatre and leads to Donny having a break down on stage. Pictured: The crowd watching Donny have a mental breakdown on stage
Did Gadd ever peep through her window?
In the TV show, Donny on a quest to find out more about Martha, after discovering her previous stalking conviction online, follows her home.
Keeping his distance he follows her to the council estate she lives on and peers into her chaotically messy home from the window, as Martha is seen watching the telly.
In the episode she catches Donny after his phone pings, alerting her to someone outside, and immediately emails him: 'babyr ein [sic] i saw you looking, ickle wickle peeping tom.'
However last night Ms Harvey was quick to assert that this was 'false'.
'I didn't see him at my house. I think it would be impossible to look through a window… That categorically didn't happen.'
What happened by the canal?
In the show viewers watched on in horror as Donny is sexually assaulted by Martha by the canal at night.
Ms Harvey denied this: 'I didn't lunge at him across the bar. I didn't a sexual assault him in a canal. I didn't go to jail.'
She added that she was never in love with him and in fact, it was her who rejected him.
'I gave him the brush off. He asked me to sleep, with him with a big green spot in his face one day. I said no I'm sorry, I'm not interested.
'He said, 'would I like my curtains fixed'? And I laughed and he said, that's a euphemism. You want me to come home with you?
'And I said, 'I've got a boyfriend'. I gave him the brush off big time.'
![Donny's father. One of the main reasons Donny decides to go to the police in the series to stop the stalking is because Martha has managed to get his parents' number](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/10/12/84702403-13403165-image-a-69_1715338972128.jpg)
Donny's father. One of the main reasons Donny decides to go to the police in the series to stop the stalking is because Martha has managed to get his parents' number
![Donny with his mother. Martha incessantly calls Donny's parents, sending his father into fits of rage](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/10/12/84702477-13403165-image-a-72_1715339062708.jpg)
Donny with his mother. Martha incessantly calls Donny's parents, sending his father into fits of rage
Did she harass Gadd's parents?
One of the main reasons Donny decides to go to the police in the series to stop the stalking is because Martha has managed to get his parents' number.
She turns her attention to them and incessantly calls his father's work and their home phone, sending his father into fits of rage.
Donny fears what Martha could do next and whether he is now putting his parents at risk by allowing this to continue.
Ms Harvey denied ever contacting Gadd's parents.
Did she attack his girlfriend?
In a complete frenzy of jealousy after seeing Donny with his transgender girlfriend Teri, Martha loses control and physically attacks her.
She attempts to tear out Teri's hair, hits her and spits venomous words mocking her for 'looking like a man'.
Ms Harvey, however, claimed no knowledge that Gadd was ever even in a relationship.
'No, I don't think he had a girlfriend. But no, I have never been to his house or attacked any girlfriend or anything like that.'
![Donny with his transgender girlfriend Teri, who Martha physically assaults in the show and mocks for 'looking like a man'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/10/12/84702391-13403165-image-a-68_1715338924796.jpg)
Donny with his transgender girlfriend Teri, who Martha physically assaults in the show and mocks for 'looking like a man'
![In the show, Martha goes to court and pleads guilty to stalking and intimidating Donny](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/10/12/84702317-13403165-image-a-67_1715338887605.jpg)
In the show, Martha goes to court and pleads guilty to stalking and intimidating Donny
Did Ms Harvey go to prison?
In the show, Martha goes to court and pleads guilty to stalking and intimidating Donny.
She also admits to harassing his parents, leading to the judge giving her a nine month jail sentence, as she weeps in the dock.
Fiona Harvey denied ever being sent to prison and claims she has never been convicted of a crime.
She said: 'It is completely untrue and very career damaging. I want to rebut that. I'm not a stalker. It's just complete nonsense.'