The millions who have streamed Baby Reindeer will recall being presented with the words, 'This is a true story' on screen. But a Netflix executive yesterday admitted that the seven-part series - created by and starring Richard Gadd, who dramatised his experience of stalking and sexual abuse - wasn't entirely based on real events.
According to The Telegraph, Benjamin King, Netflix's director of public policy, had previously told the Culture, Media and Sport (CMS) committee in May that Baby Reindeer was a 'true story of the horrific abuse Richard Gadd suffered at the hands of a convicted stalker'.
Richard portrays himself in the Netflix hit, through the protagonist Donny Dunn, while Jessica Gunning plays Martha Scott, his alleged stalker, who is sentenced to nine months in prison at the end of the series. As Baby Reindeer took off around the globe, a woman called Fiona Harvey came forward claiming to be the 'real-life Martha Scott' and was invited onto Piers Morgan: Uncensored in May to have her say. In the bombshell interview, she insisted after Piers' questioning that she had never been charged with stalking offences, nor spent time inside.
'That's completely untrue. Very, very defamatory to me, very career damaging,' she said. 'And I wanted to rebut that completely on this show. I'm not a stalker. I've not been to jail, I've not got injunctions, interdicts. This is just complete nonsense.'
The same month, following Benjamin King's statement that Baby Reindeer was 'a true story', the CMS committee were unsatisfied with the lack of evidence of a stalking conviction. John Nicolson, the former SNP MP, told the BBC: 'It’s clear that the evidence given by Netflix to the select committee is disputed. The charge made – of a conviction – is very important. Journalists can find no evidence to back up the Netflix claim. I will be writing to Netflix to ask them to substantiate the claim they made.'
Now, King has written a letter to the former chairwoman of the committee, Dame Caroline Dinenage, clarifying that 'the person on whom the show is based' was actually 'subject to a court order rather than a conviction'.
In full, the letter obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, reads, 'In response to a question about the characters portrayed in that series, I said that: "It’s an extraordinary true story … of the horrific abuse that the writer and protagonist Richard Gadd suffered at the hands of a convicted stalker."'
'I wanted to clarify our understanding that the person on whom the show is based – who we have at no point sought to identify – was subject to a court order rather than a conviction. The writer of Baby Reindeer endured serious harassment over many months (as it now seems has been the case for many others), which had a significant impact on his wellbeing.'
The latest development comes on the heels of Richard Gadd's response to Fiona Harvey's $170 million lawsuit against Netflix. It was announced in June that Harvey has decided to take legal action against the streamer for 'defamation, negligence and privacy violations'.
Deadline published Gadd's response to the lawsuit, which reads, 'I am a comedian, writer, and actor. I created, wrote, and starred in the Netflix series Baby Reindeer (the ‘Series’). 'I have personal knowledge of the facts set forth below and, if called as a witness, could and would testify competently thereto. I submit this declaration in support of defendants Netflix, Inc., and Netflix Worldwide Entertainment, LLC’s special motion to strike.'
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.