Piers Morgan has called out “high profile people” who have alleged they know the identity of the sexual abuser who inspired a character in Richard Gadd’s Netflix series Baby Reindeer.
The programme, written by and starring comedian Gadd and inspired by real events from his life, follows struggling comic Donny Dunn as he is relentlessly harassed and stalked by Martha Scott (Jessica Gunning) for more than four years. The show also examines Dunn’s experience of sexual abuse at the hands of an industry executive.
Gadd asked fans to stop speculating over the real-life identity of the characters portrayed in the show after another producer was caught in the crossfire and forced to involve police.
Meanwhile, 53-year-old TV presenter and author Richard Osman claimed that “everyone” in the TV industry knows the real identity of the sexual abuser depicted in the series.
Morgan recently faced criticism for his filmed interview with Fiona Harvey, the woman on whom Martha the stalker is allegedly based.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s The Media Show, Morgan denied knowing who the abuser is and called out “high-profile people in the business” who claim they do.
“[There] are some very high-profile people in the business saying they know who it is,” Morgan said. “Well why aren’t you telling the authorities? Why aren’t you telling their employers?”
“If there is a rapist in our business and they know who it is but aren’t giving any information then that surely should ask some pretty serious questions of them.”
Morgan also defended himself against claims he had exploited Harvey on his YouTube show, Piers Morgan Uncensored, as he added: “I think they should stop opining about my interview and start looking at themselves in the mirror and wonder if they are doing the right thing about the rapist allegation.”
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Justifying his decision to go ahead with the interview, Morgan told BBC News Culture and Media Editor Katie Razzall: “If she was a convicted stalker who had gone to prison and put his life through hell, clearly we had to think long and hard about the public interest justification in giving her the platform.
“But I felt there was enough of a question mark surrounding that part of the story to justify her at least giving her side of the story. She is emphatic that there was no court case, no conviction, she never pled guilty and there was no prison sentence.”