When Piers Morgan revealed that he was interviewing Fiona Harvey, the woman depicted as a serial stalker Martha Scott in Netflix's latest phenomenon Baby Reindeer, global intrigue was piqued - and eyebrows were raised.
Since the harrowing miniseries launched on the streamer almost a month ago, it is estimated to have procured almost 60 million views, sending it straight to the coveted number-one spot on the global top 10 Netflix chart. Across Baby Reindeer's seven episodes, Richard Gadd - through the protagonist Donny Dunn - chronicles his real-life torment of being stalked in his twenties by an older woman, Martha Scott, as well as a separate ordeal of sexual assault at the hands of a TV writer.
However, has the overwhelming success of Gadd's project proved to be a double-edged sword? While the show's spotlight on vulnerability, mental health struggles and cripplingly low self-esteem sparked overwhelming compassion among the viewership, some went into sleuth mode, determined to uncover the real identity of Gadd's stalker.
'I would urge people not to be doing that,' said Jessica Gunning, who plays Martha Scott. 'I think if that is happening, I think it's a real, real shame, because it shows that they haven't watched the show properly. That's not the point of it in any way. Netflix and Richard [Gadd] went to extreme lengths to try and make sure that the identities were kept private for a reason.
'I think they should try and watch the show again, and really see what the point of it was – it definitely wasn't that. I deliberately didn't want to do an impersonation of somebody, I wanted to do an interpretation of this character.'
With this in mind, it poses the question of whether Piers Morgan is irresponsible for interviewing the 'real-life' Martha, as well as raising the wider issue of what implications this could have on Harvey - and Gadd - moving forward.
Promoting his interview, which airs tonight on his YouTube platform Piers Morgan Uncensored, the broadcaster wrote, 'Did Netflix fail in its duty of care to real people depicted in their supposed ‘true story’ Baby Reindeer? 'See what the real Martha thinks at 8pm on @PiersUncensored'.
It immediately garnered conflicting responses in the X thread. 'Bit contradictory, Piers. Showing her off to the entire world,' wrote one tweeter. It was echoed by a second, who added, 'You're playing a dangerous game here Piers and all for ratings. You're placing the lives of the victims and all the actors in the Netflix series in serious harm as well.'
Others called Piers' decision to interview Fiona Harvey 'grim' and 'exploitative', with one going so far as to say it was 'unethical'.
After the Scottish lawyer revealed her identity and gave her first press interview to The Daily Record over the weekend - in which she threatened legal action over Baby Reindeer and Gadd there have been some contesting that she has a right for her voice to be heard too. But as we pick over a saga involving two clearly troubled people, using her story for light entertainment - and in Morgan's case - ratings - just feels wrong.
In an interview with Variety, Gadd reflected on feeling sorry for his stalker, referring to them both as 'broken people'.
He said, 'I have a bit of empathy overdrive sometimes. But it’s not like anything I’ve seen on television before. Stalking usually is depicted as someone who is kind of evil, whereas I felt like there was a vulnerable person who genuinely couldn’t stop, who for whatever reason had believed the reality that was inside her head and no matter what couldn’t change from that. I mean, it is a mental illness and I wanted to portray that. I did see someone who I felt sorry for.'
It feels like Gadd and Harvey's story isn't quite over - but watching it play out in real time is every bit as discomfiting as the Netflix show we've all been so transfixed with.
Millie Payne is a News and Entertainment Writer for Grazia. She has specialised in showbiz interviews, features, articles and roundups for over three years and loves combining her love for writing, talking and all things popular culture.