MP John Nicolson will ask Netflix to substantiate claims it made about the hit drama Baby Reindeer and its real-life influences.
Baby Reindeer is a semi-autobiographical series written by the comedian Richard Gadd that claims to tell the “true story” of a struggling stand-up (played by Gadd) who is maliciously stalked by an older woman named Martha.
A Scottish woman named Fiona Harvey has identified herself as the person who inspired the character of Martha. However, she asserts that various elements of Gadd’s story are untrue, including that she was convicted on charges of stalking. Neither Netflix nor Gadd have confirmed if the character of Martha is based on Harvey.
Last week, Netflix executive Benjamin King said the show was “obviously a true story of the horrific abuse that the writer and protagonist Richard Gadd suffered at the hands of a convicted stalker”.
However, Nicolson believes the evidence Netflix gave about the show’s real-life influences may have been inaccurate. Knowingly misleading a committee is a contempt of Parliament.
The SNP MP told the BBC: “It’s clear that the evidence given by Netflix to the select committee is disputed.”
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He added that “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.”
Harvey has since appeared in a lengthy interview with Piers Morgan, in which she denied much of what is depicted in the Netflix series. After many viewers questioned the ethics of the segment, Morgan defended his decision to allow Harvey to give “her side of the story”.
Since the interview, Morgan himself has said that he believes Harvey lied to him “quite a lot”, adding: “If her threatened legal action against Netflix and Gadd goes ahead, I suspect it will quickly emerge she did send all the emails, messages, and letters to him.”
Harvey has previously spoken about how she felt the interview went, saying: “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. It seemed to me that I was set up. I feel a bit used.”