A timeline of the twists and turns since 'Baby Reindeer' was released, as 'real Martha Scott' Fiona Harvey speaks to Piers Morgan
Eammon Jacobs
- Netflix's true crime drama "Baby Reindeer" has blown up since it was released in April.
- It sparked controversy when audiences hunted for the woman behind the stalker character.
Since its release in April, Netflix's true crime drama "Baby Reindeer" has become a huge pop culture phenomenon.
The series was created by its lead actor, Richard Gadd, who plays a fictional version of himself called Donny Dunn. It's based on his experiences with being stalked by a woman earlier in his career, when he was trying to make it as a comedian.
Buzz around the show quickly snowballed, as audiences tried to track down the real-life people the show's characters are based on, particularly Dunn's stalker, Martha Scott, and his abuser, Darrien.
Forensic psychologist, Dr. Ruth Tully, told Business Insider that true crime shows like "Baby Reindeer" can turn audiences into armchair detectives because the genre blurs the lines between entertainment and reality.
The speculation culminated on Thursday when Piers Morgan interviewed Fiona Harvey, a 58-year old Scottish woman who fans outed as "the real Martha Scott."
Here's a complete timeline of the "Baby Reindeer" drama.
"Baby Reindeer" was released on April 11, 2024.
After its debut, the show was met with widespread praise from audiences and critics alike, earning itself a 98% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
11 days after "Baby Reindeer" was released, Netflix announced that it was submitting the show for consideration at the 2024 Emmys, Deadline reported.
Audiences instantly speculated over who Gadd's real stalker and abuser were.
Because "Baby Reindeer" is based on a true story, it wasn't long before fans started searching for the real people involved with the show.
According to Google Trends, fans were mostly searching for "Baby Reindeer real Martha," as well as Gadd, and a man viewers thought was his real-life abuser.
Because the show uses the real messages and emails that Gadd said the stalker sent him, some people cross-referenced them on social media. Toward the end of April, some TikTok users concluded that they found the woman who stalked Gadd.
Gadd asked fans to stop speculating after writer Sean Foley was harassed online.
Fans also tried to piece together who might have sexually assaulted Gadd when he was an aspiring comedian. In the show, the perpetrator is a powerful TV producer called Darrien (Tom Goodman-Hill).
There was intense speculation that the character was based on writer, actor, and producer Sean Foley, who coincidentally stepped down from his role as the artistic director at the Birmingham Repertory Theater on April 18.
Four days later, on the evening of Monday 22, Gadd made a statement defending Foley and asked fans to stop speculating who the characters are based on.
An unnamed woman claiming to be "the real Martha Scott" told a British tabloid that Gadd was "bullying an older woman on television for fame and fortune."
On April 27, the Daily Mail published an interview with an unnamed woman who claimed to be the person that Gadd based Scott on in "Baby Reindeer." The outlet did not reveal her name.
The woman criticized Gadd, and said: "He's using 'Baby Reindeer' to stalk me now. I'm the victim. He's written a bloody show about me."
She also said that a lot of the show is false, and that she was considering legal action against Gadd and Netflix.
At the end of the show, Scott explains that a baby reindeer toy was the only thing that gave her comfort during her difficult childhood, which is why she nicknamed Dunn "baby reindeer."
Harvey said that was false: "I've never owned a toy baby reindeer, and I wouldn't have had any conversation with Richard Gadd about a childhood toy either."
Gadd said he doesn't see his stalker as a "villain."
Netflix hosted a "Baby Reindeer" screening and Q&A session on May 7 in Los Angeles with both Gadd and Gunning in attendance.
When asked about how he depicted the real people depicted as characters in the show, Gadd said he feels "toxic empathy" toward his stalker.
"I never saw someone who was a villain," Gadd said. "I saw someone who was lost by the system, really. I saw someone who needed help and wasn't getting it. At the end of the day, she's just someone who's in a lot of pain."
Piers Morgan announced that he interviewed Fiona Harvey.
On May 8, Piers Morgan announced that he had interviewed Fiona Harvey, the woman who the stalker is allegedly based on.
Harvey said that Morgan "used" her during the interview.
Before the episode of "Piers Morgan Uncensored" dropped on Thursday, Harvey spoke to Scottish newspaper, the Daily Record about the interview.
She claimed that Morgan only paid her £250 for her appearance, and said that he "used" her.
"I have my own thoughts on it that I'd like to keep to myself but I wouldn't say I was happy. It was very rapid to try to trip me up," Harvey said. "He did it fast paced to catch me off guard."
Morgan's representatives did not immediately respond to Business Insider's requests for comment.
During the interview, Harvey denied that she stalked Gadd, and called him "psychotic."
In the 54-minute long interview, Harvey denied that she stalked Gadd, and claimed that she didn't send him 41,000 emails as Gadd claimed in a 2019 interview with The Independent.
"I don't think I sent him anything. There may have been a couple of emails, jokey banter, but that is it," Harvey told Morgan.
She also alleged that Gadd propositioned her for sex, but she declined.
When Morgan asked if she'd watched "Baby Reindeer, Harvey said: "No, I think I'd be sick. It's taken over enough of my life. I find it quite obscene. I find it horrifying, misogynistic," she explained. "He's making money out of my misery. He's making money out of untrue facts. He's the ultimate misogynist."
Gadd has not responded to Harvey's claims. His representatives did not immediately respond to BI's request for comment.
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