Now MPs wade into Baby Reindeer storm as they demand Netflix boss provides proof to back up claim ‘stalker’ was convicted

Netflix bosses are under fire from MPs over claims that the Baby Reindeer ‘stalker’ was convicted and jailed for harassing the show’s star, after the woman who says she was the basis for the character denied it.

The SNP‘s John Nicolson has warned the entertainment giant’s policy chief Benjamin King he may be in contempt of parliament over evidence he gave to the Commons’ Culture Committee last week about ‘Martha’.

The programme claims that Martha targeted protagonist Richard Gadd and was convicted and jailed for her actions towards him, having previously done time for stalking someone else.

And speaking to MPs last week, Mr King said that the programme was ‘a true story of the horrific abuse that the writer and protagonist Richard Gadd suffered at the hands of a convicted stalker’.

However Scots lawyer Fiona Harvey came forward last week to say she was the inspiration for the character – but was never convicted or jailed. She says she never received more than a police warning for what she did and is considering legal action.

Mr Nicolson told the BBC it was clear Mr King’s evidence was ‘disputed’ , adding: ‘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.’

The programme claims that Martha was convicted and jailed for her actions towards him, having previously done time for stalking someone else. However Scots lawyer Fiona Harvey came forward last week to say she was the inspiration for the character – but was never convicted or jailed

The row comes as Netflix continues to face questions over its duty of care towards hiding the real identities of those portrayed in the comedy.

Following the show’s phenomenal global success, comedian Mr Gadd, who based the Netflix hit on his real life, said he did not want the true identities of his abusers to be revealed, adding that it’s ‘not the point’ of the series. 

The show sees Mr Gadd’s character Donny Dunn fall victim to a relentless stalking campaign by Martha, which starts after he served her in a London pub while working as a bartender. 

Mr Gadd previously made it clear that he changed names and specific details of the story to protect the identities of those involved, even claiming that the real Martha ‘would not even recognise herself’ in the hit show. 

But many viewers have taken to social media to criticise the show’s creator’s for choosing an ‘identical’ actress to play Mr Gadd’s real-life stalker. 

And Ms Harvey last week told the Daily Record: ‘I’ve not been to prison. I don’t know where the four-and-a-half years and nine months comes in. None of this happened. It’s a load of rubbish.’ 

Mr King was asked by MPs about the streamer’s duty of care regarding Baby Reindeer and whether he was concerned that the characters might be identified. He claimed both Netflix and Baby Reindeer producer Clerkenwell Films took ‘every reasonable precaution in disguising the real-life identities of the people involved in that story’.

But he also said that ‘we did not want to anonymise… or make it generic to the point where it was no longer his [Mr Gadd’s] story, because that would undermine the intent behind the show’.

He added: ‘Richard Gadd was very clear that it was not the intent of the show that it should inspire people to try to track down the real-life individuals. 

‘Ultimately, it is obviously very difficult to control what viewers do, particularly in a world where everything is amplified by social media.

‘Fundamentally, this was Richard’s story and about telling Richard’s story in a truthful way. I personally would not be comfortable with a world in which we decided that it was better that Richard was silenced and not allowed to tell his story. We are following the situation very closely.’