Martha WAS based on lawyer Fiona Harvey, court papers confirm

Richard Gadd as confirmed for the first time that the stalker in Baby Reindeer was based on Scottish lawyer Fiona Harvey.

The comedian has recounted years of ‘extremely upsetting’ harassment at her hands in court papers challenging Harvey’s $170million lawsuit against Netflix for defamation, negligence and privacy violations.

In his submission to the Central California district court, Gadd stressed that his TV show was ‘emotionally true’ to his own life,  but was not untended as a documentary.

He described how he was so terrified he was of encountering Harvey that he would hide from her at the pub where he worked – the Hawley Arms in Camden, where the first met in 2014.

 He reported her to the police in February 2016, says she sent thousands of disturbing and sexually explicit emails and voicemails.

‘It was exhausting and extremely upsetting to deal with her constant personal interactions in the Hawley Arms, her following me around London including near where I lived and her relentless and deeply unpleasant communications,’ he said.

Harvey is not identified in the show, but she came forward on Piers Morgan’s chat show. A primary bone of contention is that the Baby Reindeer character Martha was portrayed as a twice-convicted stalker who was sentenced to five years in prison – yet there has been no evidence Harvey has been convicted of a crime.

Her lawsuit claims several other scenes are also defamatory, including that Martha sexually assaulted Gadd’s character Donny and that Martha slashed a glass over his head and gouged his eyes.

In the court papers Gadd said he took to hiding in the basement of the Hawley Arms agent Harvey would sit at the bar, sometimes getting ‘handsy’, and pinching his buttocks.

He wrote: ‘The attention was unwelcome and I found myself constantly trying to dodge Harvey’s advances and unwanted physical contact while serving tables… she was persistent and relentless…

‘I was scared of Harvey and what she might be capable of. Nothing deterred her, and I remember long shifts where I would sit out on the balcony or in the basement for hours waiting for her to leave.’

He stated that Harvey bombarded him with messages that ‘often included sexually explicit, violent, and derogatory content, hateful speech, and threats’ as well as ‘racist and homophobic language’.

‘I was fearful,’ he wrote in his 20-page submission. ‘I was panicked and paranoid. I was terrified about getting on tubes and buses for fear of seeing her. I genuinely was worried that she might harm me or my parents — my parents especially. 

‘In short, her actions took an extensive toll on my physical and especially my mental well-being.’

He also told of how Harvey would often show up at gigs, including one at Aces and Eights in London in July 2016 when, the producer subtly told every other audience member they would be pretending the show had been cancelled but that they could return 10 minutes later, just to get Harvey to leave.

Outside the venue he said: ‘Harvey confronted me about cancelling the show. A member of the producing team had to stand between me and Harvey, who was becoming increasingly animated towards me. 

’In addition, I have always had to put extensive measures in place to stop Harvey from attending my shows including at venues like the Soho Theatre and the Bush Theatre, as well as involving producing partners Berk’s Nest and Francesca Moody Productions to help manage the situation.’

Gadd ultimately got the police to issue a harassment warning, which made a big difference. 

He said: ‘Overall, it was an incredibly stressful and worrying time, with a sustained period of relentless behaviour taking place over several years’

Speaking to Piers Morgan, Harvey denied that she had acted like Martha, who sent Donny 41,000 emails and leaves 350 hours of voicemail messages in the show.

‘None of that's true. I don't think I sent him anything,’ she said. ‘I think there may have been a couple of emails exchanged, but that was it. Just jokey banter emails.’

Read Gadd’s submission in full here.

Published: 30 Jul 2024