Fiona Harvey, a Scottish woman, claims that the character Martha in Netflix's series is based on her.

Despite Netflix and Richard Gadd's assurances that they changed key facts about Martha for the show, their efforts to conceal her identity have seemingly backfired.

In April, Netflix released a limited series where Gadd stars as a fictionalized version of himself named Donny Dunn, a struggling comedian and bartender who is being stalked by a woman named Martha.

The pair met after Donny served the lonely woman a free cup of tea at the bar where he worked.

The show is based on Gadd’s real-life experience with a stalker in his 20s.

The actor claimed that the woman sent him 41,071 emails, 350 hours’ worth of voicemails, 744 tweets, 46 Facebook messages, 106 pages of letters, and a variety of weird gifts, including a reindeer toy, sleeping pills, a woolly hat, and boxers.

She also allegedly stalked Gadd outside of his home, workplace, and on stage in comedy clubs—even going as far as harassing his loved ones, including his parents and a trans woman he started dating.

“At first, everyone at the pub thought it was funny that I had an admirer,” Gadd revealed to UK’s.

“Then she started to invade my life, following me, turning up at my gigs, waiting outside my house, sending thousands of voicemails and emails.

” To protect the real Martha’s identity, Gadd told in April that he and Netflix went “to such lengths to disguise her that I doubt she would recognize herself in the show.

” Netflix Policy Chief Benjamin King even last month that the streamer and producer Clerkenwell Films had taken “every reasonable precaution in disguising the real-life identities of the people involved in that story.

”However, all of their best efforts to hide Martha’s identity unraveled when internet sleuths began hunting for clues.

Quickly, social media users discovered Harvey’s Twitter account, which showed that she sent multiple tweets to Gadd in 2014, one of which was allegedly featured in the show.

While this was happening, Gadd and (who portrays Martha on), urged the public to stop trying to uncover Martha’s identity.

“Please don’t speculate on who any of the real-life people could be.

That’s not the point of our show,” Gadd said in a now-expired Instagram story.

Gunning also told BBC Scotland's that the speculation around Martha was “quite sad” and “not the point of the show at all.

” She continued, “If you like the show and you are a fan of it, you should stick with the story of Martha and Donny being what connects you, not trying to do any detective work and find out any real identities.

” The actress added that Netflix went to “great lengths” to conceal the identities of those involved.

“Richard has done an amazing job of not making the story so black and white, so there’s no goody or baddy or villain or victim, really,” she said.

“They are just complicated people like humans are.

”But the speculation surrounding Harvey’s connection with Martha didn’t stop.

In fact, it grew stronger after a woman claiming to be Gadd's stalker anonymously told the that she was considering legal action against him.

She insisted that now, Gadd was the one who was obsessed with her.

“He’s using to stalk me now,” she said.

“I’m the victim.

He’s written a bloody show about me.

” The woman told the tabloid that Gadd's script amounted to “bullying an older woman on television for fame and fortune” and that she had received online “death threats and abuse from Richard Gadd supporters.

”Harvey then went on in May and shared that she was considering taking legal action against Gadd and Netflix.

She also denied sending Gadd 41,000 emails and told Morgan that is “a work of hyperbole.

” On June 6, Harvey filed a lawsuit suing the streaming site, alleging defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, and violations of her right of publicity in the U.

S.

District Court for the Central District of California.

“The lies that Defendants told about Harvey to over 50 million people worldwide include that Harvey is a twice-convicted stalker who was sentenced to five years in prison, and that Harvey sexually assaulted Gadd,” the complaint reads.

“Defendants told these lies, and never stopped, because it was a better story than the truth, and better stories made money.

” The lawsuit continues, “As a result of Defendants’ lies, malfeasance and utterly reckless misconduct, Harvey’s life had been ruined.

Simply, Netflix and Gadd destroyed her reputation, her character, and her life.

” While the first episode of opens with “this is a true story,” Harvey’s suit alleges that line “is the biggest lie in television history.

” “It is a lie told by Netflix and the show’s creator, Richard Gadd, out of greed and lust for fame; a lie designed to attract more viewers, get more attention, to make more money, and to viciously destroy the life of Plaintiff, Fiona Harvey—an innocent woman defamed by Netflix and Richard Gadd at a magnitude and scale without precedent,” the complaint continues.

Harvey earned a Degree of Bachelor of Laws from the University of Aberdeen in 1990, a diploma in Legal Practice from the University of Strathclyde in 1993, and was granted an Entrance Certificate to the Law Society of Scotland in 1997.

In 2005, Harvey earned her Graduate Diploma in Law (CPE) from the University of Westminster, according to the lawsuit.

Harvey is now seeking more than $170 million from Netflix, including at least $50 million for actual damages, at least $50 million in compensatory damages for “mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life and loss of business,” at least $50 million “for all profits from ‘Baby Reindeer,’” and at least $20 million in punitive damages, per In a recent statement to, a Netflix spokesperson wrote, “We intend to defend this matter vigorously and to stand by Richard Gadd's right to tell his story.

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