Netflix Admits ‘Baby Reindeer’s Real-Life Martha Was Not Convicted Of Stalking Richard Gadd

deadline.com:

EXCLUSIVE: In an admission that could go to the heart of a $170M Baby Reindeer lawsuit, Netflix has conceded that the show’s real-life Martha was not convicted of stalking.

Deadline can reveal that Netflix has acknowledged that Martha — who was identified as Scottish lawyer Fiona Harvey soon after Baby Reindeer premiered — has only been subject to a court order over her interactions with Richard Gadd, creator of the Emmy-nominated series billed as a “true story.” The admission came in a letter to British Parliament’s Culture, Media and Sport Committee after a lawmaker questioned evidence Netflix supplied MPs during a hearing earlier this year.

Netflix’s letter has gone unreported until now. Appearing before the committee in May, Benjamin King, Netflix’s senior UK director of public policy, said Baby Reindeer was a “true story of the horrific abuse” suffered by Gadd “at the hands of a convicted stalker.” John Nicolson, who was a member of the committee until it was disbanded for the UK election, later wrote to Netflix demanding evidence to support King’s claim, given that “journalists have thus far been unable to find a record of the conviction to which you referred.” In a letter of response (full text below), King said: “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. “ King added: “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 alleged stalking conviction is at the heart of questions facing Netflix.