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An MP has asked Netflix to prove that its hit drama Baby Reindeer was really based on the actions of a “convicted stalker”.
The SNP’s John Nicolson wrote to the streaming giant after a senior figure in the firm appeared before MPs last week.
The series follows Scottish comedian Richard Gadd – who wrote and starred in it – and his experience of being stalked over the course of three years by Martha, a fellow Scot in London.
Both Gadd and Netflix said they had gone to great lengths to disguise the real identity of Martha but within hours of the series being aired, internet sleuths claimed to have found her.
And later, Fiona Harvey outed herself as the woman who inspired the series. Although she denies ever stalking Mr Gadd.
Appearing before the House of Commons’s Culture, Media and Sport Committee last week, Netflix’s senior director of public policy in the UK and Ireland was asked by Nicolson about Netflix’s duty of care while depicting Martha.
Benjamin King told Parliament: “[Baby Reindeer] is obviously a true story of the horrific abuse that the writer and protagonist Richard Gadd suffered at the hands of a convicted stalker.
“We did take every reasonable precaution in disguising the real-life identities of the people whilst striking a balance with the veracity and authenticity of [the] story.”
In a letter to Mr King on Friday, Nicolson asked Netflix to back up its claim that Martha was a convicted stalker – something denied by Ms Harvey.
The Ochil and South Perthshire MP wrote: “Journalists have thus far been unable to find a record of the conviction to which you referred.
“Can you provide me with the evidence for this serious claim which you made to me at the select committee?”
UK ParliamentTweeting the letter, Nicolson said: “Netflix told me the Martha character in Baby Reindeer was, in real life, a “convicted stalker” when I asked about the company’s duty of care towards her.
“It’s a serious charge, yet journalists can find no court record. I’ve written to Netflix to ask for evidence.”
Nicolson has suggested that King’s evidence may have been inaccurate.
Knowingly misleading a committee would be contempt of Parliament.
Baby Reindeer has been watched by more than 65 million people across the world and became a Netflix hit through word of mouth.
Gadd, who is from Fife, said the real-life Martha had sent him more than 40,000 emails, left hundreds of voicemails and relentlessly stalked him over three years.
NetflixMs Harvey – who Gadd has refused to comment on – has threatened to take legal action against the show’s creator as well as Netflix for defamation claims.
The 58-year-old told Piers Morgan: “I wanted to rebut that completely on this show – I am not a stalker, I have not been to jail, I’ve not got injunctions – it is complete nonsense.”
Ms Harvey said she has received death threats from people who found her online.
Mr Gadd has asked fans not to speculate over who the real-life characters are.
He previously intervened on Instagram after some fans had claimed to have found the real-life producer who raped Gadd in the show.
Sean Foley, who Mr Gadd said is not the inspiration behind the character, has gone to police who are investigating the comments online.
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