Baby Reindeer star Richard Gadd cut a dejected figure as he emerged with a female friend in north London as the controversy surrounding his shocking Netflix series continues to rumble on.
The actor, 35, was spotted heading down his local high street days after the ‘real’ Martha Fiona Harvey branded him a ‘psychopath’ in a bombshell interview with Piers Morgan, having been portrayed as Richard’s stalker in the show.
The explosive interview has sparked a huge row as viewers branded the TV chat ‘highly irresponsible’ and suggested Fiona Harvey ‘was ‘exploited for sensationalism and poor taste’.
Richard cut a pensive figure as he headed into the capital with a friend, after gracing the BAFTAs red carpet with his co-star Jessica Gunning on Sunday.
One month after Baby Reindeer aired, Fiona confirmed during her interview with Piers that the hit series is based on her but denied ever stalking Richard, sexually assaulting him or attacking his girlfriend.
Baby Reindeer star Richard Gadd cut a dejected figure as he emerged with a female friend in north London as the controversy surrounding his shocking Netflix series rumbles on
It comes after the ‘real’ Martha Fiona Harvey branded him a ‘psychopath’ in a bombshell interview with Piers Morgan , having been portrayed as Richard’s stalker in the show
The actor was spotted heading down his local high street with a friend, a month after his controversial series hit Netflix
Fiona Harvey had previously not been identified in reports surrounding the Netflix series before her interview with Piers.
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During the interview she confirmed she is the woman Baby Reindeer’s character Martha is based upon, but denied ever stalking Richard, sexually assaulting him or attacking his girlfriend.
She also denies ever being arrested by police or going to prison.
The show alleges that the comedian’s female stalker conducted a relentless campaign which started after he served her in a London pub while working as a bartender.
The Netflix hit sees Donny Dunn (Richard) offer Martha a cup of tea on the house during their first encounter, which Fiona has claimed never happened.
The show alleges Gadd was bombarded with 41,000 emails, 350 hours of voice messages, 744 tweets, 48 Facebook messages, and 106 letters during the stalking campaign.
Fiona told Morgan this was ‘simply not true’, adding she sent ‘less than ten’ emails to Gadd and ‘one letter’.
During the interview, Ms Harvey referenced a scene in the show where character Martha admits to intimidating Gadd’s character and receives a nine-month prison sentence.
The explosive interview has sparked a huge row as viewers branded the TV chat ‘highly irresponsible’
Fiona Harvey had previously not been identified in reports surrounding the Netflix series before her interview with Piers
One month after Baby Reindeer aired, Fiona confirmed during her interview with Piers that the hit series is based on her but denied ever stalking Richard
The show alleges that the comedian’s female stalker conducted a relentless campaign which started after he served her in a London pub while working as a bartender
‘That is completely untrue, very, very defamatory to me, very career damaging,’ she said.
‘I wanted to rebut that completely on this show – I am not a stalker, I have not been to jail, I’ve not got injunctions – it is complete nonsense.’
Many viewers said they were left ‘disturbed’ by the interview, branding it a ‘painful’ watch.
But Piers has said he believed his show had performed its ‘duty of care’ by staying in touch with her since the interview as he revealed Fiona ‘wants an agent’.
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He told Lorraine he did not see ‘any sign of anyone who I thought was mentally unwell’ but added he does believe she has ‘an obsessive streak’ and that she ‘lied a lot in the interview’.
He also criticised the show’s attempts to anonymise Fiona, saying it was ‘disingenuous’ of Gadd to ask fans not to look up the real person behind the character.
‘I think that is pretty disingenuous as they have used segments of the exact messages she sent so any internet sleuth can put that in and find it on her phone.
‘I think they failed in a duty of care to Fiona Harvey, especially Netflix,’ he said.
Responding to criticism over the interview, he said: ‘I felt it was important that she was allowed to have her say as she had already been revealed by the media as the real life Martha but she had no ability to tell her story.’
Viewers previously took to social media to blast Morgan for allegedly ‘exploiting’ Ms Harvey.
But Piers has said he believed his show had performed its ‘duty of care’ by staying in touch with her since the interview as he revealed Fiona ‘wants an agent’
Many viewers said they were left ‘disturbed’ by the interview, branding it a ‘painful’ 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 severe mental health issues to anybody that works within this field. ‘It’s clear she’s being exploited for financial gain.’
Another wrote: ‘It was highly irresponsible to put Fiona Harvey on TV!’
Since the release of Baby Reindeer, Fiona has been posting regularly on social media protesting her innocence.
Other alleged stalking victims have since come forward to share their own experiences with Fiona.
Richard himself previously asked people to stop speculating on the real-life identities of the characters from his show.
‘I can’t confirm or deny anything relating to the real life people who the characters are based on in the show,’ he said when asked about people claiming to be the stalker.
