Baby Reindeer backlash: Richard Gadd says he won't comment on the series again

Baby Reindeer star and creator Richard Gadd has doubled down on his plea for internet sleuths to stop trying to identify people from the show.

The hit Netflix series follows struggling comedian Donny, played by Gadd, as he is harassed and stalked by Martha Scott, and sexually assaulted by a powerful TV executive named Darrien.

Martha's character has come under immense speculation, with people cross-referencing posts from Gadd's social media to try and track down the real life Ms Scott.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, he said: "I’ve put out a statement publicly saying I want the show to be received as a piece of art and I want people to enjoy the show as a piece of art. I’m called Donny Dunn. It exists in a sort of fictional realm, even though it is based on truth it exists in a fictional realm.”

When asked about people trying to uncover the identities of those involved, Gadd said: "I’ve spoken publicly about how I don’t want people to do it and if I start playing a game of whack-a-mole, then I’m almost adding to it. I don’t think I’ll ever comment on it ever again."

And, as the flurry of speculation about who the real-life counterparts of the show's characters are intensified, Piers Morgan interviewed the woman claiming to be the real-life Martha Scott.

Morgan's sitdown with Fiona Harvey has been viewed more than 11 million times and has been met with significant backlash.

Despite giving Ms Harvey a platform, Morgan says she has been let down by Netflix, telling ITV's Lorraine: “I think they failed in their duty of care to Fiona Harvey, Netflix in particular.

“When you watch the series, it’s gripping television. Richard Gadd, I saw him on your show here and he has done an amazing job of telling this story, but the key question after watching the series and watching my interview is - is it actually a true story? And the key part of that is did she actually go to prison? Is she a convicted stalker? As I sit here Lorraine, there is no actual evidence so far that she has ever even been in court.”

Ms Harvey has since announced she will be suing the streaming giant and creator Richard Gadd over her "defamatory" depiction.

Fiona Harvey said she has been "forced" into telling her side of the story after receiving death threats from "internet sleuths" following the release of the show.

On Piers Morgan Uncensored, Ms Harvey repeatedly denied stalking Mr Gadd in real life, describing the show as “a work of fiction, a work of hyperbole”.

For her part on Morgan's show, Fiona Harvey has since asked to be paid £1 million, something that has been batted away by the TalkTV journalist.

He said: “No she’s not going to get a million pound. What she wants is an agent… I think we have performed our duty of care. We’ve stayed in touch with her since and when she came to the studio, she was actually relatively normal. I didn’t get any sign of anyone who I thought was mentally unwell but I do think she sent all these messages and I do think that shows she has an obsessive streak, certainly in relation to Richard Gadd.

"I also think by his own admission, he himself is a pretty damaged individual and he admits to leading her on. So it’s a very messy, human interest story at the heart of this."

He added: "I have interviewed people who have done really terrible things and she is not one of those. I have had far scarier environments by where I have interviewed people. 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… I think I was fair with her. I tried to be very fair and balanced. I tried to get to the truth. I think she lied to me a lot in the interview.”

Stating he does not know where the truth lies, Piers also revealed to Lorraine Kelly he has contacted Richard Gadd to hear his side of the story.

As the show continues to stir an almost morbid curiosity, a nightclub in Coventry has attempted to cash-in on Ms Harvey's new found fame.

Kasbah nightclub has seemingly booked a “world exclusive” night with Fiona Harvey, the woman on which the character is allegedly based, according to a post on Facebook.

The nightclub advertised the event, writing that “a personal appearance by Fiona Harvey aka Martha of Baby Reindeer” will take place this weekend. It added: “she will be signing autographs, taking selfies and she may also take a lucky reindeer home to hang her curtains!”

Some took to social media to call the stunt distasteful and questioned why Ms Harvey was being given a platform.

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