Piers Morgan has revealed millions tuned in to watch his much-criticised interview with the woman thought to be the ‘real Martha’ in Baby Reindeer.
TalkTV viewers had slammed the broadcaster’s hour-long sitdown with Fiona Harvey, 58, on Thursday as ‘surreal’ and ‘unethical.’
But despite concerns, and a plea from Richard Gadd to leave the ‘real Martha’ alone, Morgan has revealed the show attracted an audience of 3.5million.
Morgan, 59, wrote on X: ‘WOW. 3.5m views of my interview with the real-life #BabyReindeer alleged stalker Fiona Harvey in just 11hrs.’
In the interview, Harvey confirmed to Morgan that she nicknamed Gadd, 34, ‘baby reindeer’ after a toy she owned.
The former GMB presenter had asked: ‘It says that you told Richard Gadd that he looked like a baby reindeer toy you had as a child, hence the name of the show.’
Harvey, a Scottish lawyer, responded: ‘I appear to have written most of the show in my sleep.’
Morgan probed: ‘But did you have a baby reindeer toy?’
Harvey explained: ‘I had a toy reindeer and he shaved his head so that bit is true and there were reindeers in the shop as it was Christmas time. It was a joke. So I have inadvertently penned the name of the show.’
Morgan persisted: ‘Right, but that is true?’
Harvey said: ‘That is true. That is a true fact.’
Harvey said she was ‘forced’ into telling her side of the story after being hunted down by internet sleuths despite Gadd’s pleas to preserve the ‘real Martha’s’ anonymity.
In the drama series inspired by the real-life experiences of comedian and writer Gadd, his character Donny is stalked and sexually assaulted by a woman named Martha Scott (played by Jessica Gunning) after he serves her a free cup of tea in the pub where he works.
On Piers Morgan Uncensored, Harvey repeatedly denied stalking Gadd in real life, describing the show as ‘a work of fiction, a work of hyperbole.’ She said she only knew him for a few months.
She also claimed that she was prepared to go to a court of law to defend herself against allegations made in the series.
When Morgan asked if she will ‘categorically be taking legal action’, she replied: ‘Absolutely, against both him (Gadd) and Netflix.’
During the interview, Harvey denied sending Gadd 41,000 emails, a claim made in Baby Reinder, and said she only wrote him ‘a couple.’
She did admit to having tweeted Gadd around 18 times, and didn’t understand Piers’ question about Martha in Baby Reindeer signing off ‘sent from my iPhone’ – seemingly pretending to own one.
However, Harvey did say she had six email addresses and multiple phones.
Harvey, who claims to have a photographic memory, also denied having sexually assaulted Gadd, assaulting his girlfriend, or launching at him across a bar – something Martha did in the show.
Morgan asked Harvey what her message was to Gadd, to which she replied it was: ‘Leave me alone please, get a life, get a proper job. I am horrified at what you’ve done.’
Harvey later said she felt ‘used’ by Morgan looking back at the interview.
She told the Daily Record: ‘I have my own thoughts on it that I’d like to keep to myself but I wouldn’t say I was happy. It was very rapid to try to trip me up. He did it fast paced to catch me off guard.’
Previously speaking about the process of turning his ordeal into a TV show, Gadd told Metro.co.uk he wanted Baby Reindeer ‘to be three-dimensional’.
‘I wanted it to be nuanced. I just remember my idea of stalking in life was so different to what actually happened,’ he said.
‘My idea of what a stalker was, was that they are fundamentally, sort of, psychopathic characters. But it just wasn’t that case. I saw someone very vulnerable, really.’
He added there was no ‘moral point for people to take away’ but there was ‘a subtle reference to the fact that this is a vulnerable person who needs help’.
Metro.co.uk has contacted Morgan, Gadd, TalkTV and Netflix for comment.
Piers Morgan Uncensored airs 8pm Monday to Thursday on YouTube.
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