Piers Morgan responds to alleged Netflix ‘stalker’ demanding $1.9 million for sit-down interview

Piers Morgan has responded to criticism from alleged Baby Reindeer stalker for only paying her $470 for a sit-down interview.

Piers Morgan has responded to criticism from alleged Baby Reindeer stalker Fiona Harvey for only paying her £250 ($A475) for a sit-down interview on his program Uncensored.

Harvey, who is believed to be the stalker character, Martha, in the hit Netflix series Baby Reindeer, is reportedly not happy she was paid a small amount for the interview, given it has clocked up more than 11 million views since it aired on Thursday.

“They offered me £250 and I asked if that was what they paid everyone and, if so, I wanted to see documentation to that effect,” Harvey told the Daily Record.

Piers Morgan interviewed Fiona Harvey on his show Uncensored on Thursday.

“That documentation has not been forthcoming. I have not signed a contract for the interview and I will be seeking far more than a piddling £250. I’d settle for a million ($A1.9 million).”

Morgan defended himself and his show this morning during an appearance on Aussie radio program Hughesy, Ed & Erin, saying that Harvey was treated well while a guest on his show.

“We give her the same as we give 95 per cent of our guests,” Morgan told hosts Dave Hughes, Ed Kavalee and Erin Molan.

“I won’t say what it was, but we also paid for her to have a nice haircut, we got her a nice car and so on. I think we treated her very fairly and reasonably.”

Stream Baby Reindeer now on Netflix, available on Hubbl

Harvey says she is the real-life Martha from hit Netflix show Baby Reindeer.

Morgan went on to say that the interview has gone gangbusters and even he had not predicted it to go viral.

Baby Reindeer has indeed become a worldwide hit since its release in early April, with millions watching the story of a comedian and his stalker.

Written by and starring comedian Richard Gadd – who plays Donnie Dunn, a fictionalised version of himself – the series follows the alleged ordeal with Martha, who is played by Jessica Gunning.

“The bottom line is, this Baby Reindeer thing, I didn’t really understand what a huge phenomenon this is. But it is an absolute global phenomenon,” Morgan said on-air.

“To give you some idea, the interview on our YouTube channel has so far had 11 million views, one of the clips on our TikTok channel has had 26 million views. These numbers are like nothing we’d ever seen.

“We’ve had 200,000 new subscribers to our YouTube channel in the last six days, so there is something about Baby Reindeer that has captivated the world.”

Comedian Richard Gadd wrote and starred in the series alongside Jessica Gunning, who played Martha.

The journalist says he still has a lot of questions after the interview, notably, if Harvey was ever criminally charged in real life as it was depicted in the series.

“Anyone who has watched the Netflix series and watched the interview will know the big question is: Was this woman who was easily identified as Fiona Harvey, did Fiona Harvey ever actually go to prison? Did she admit to the crime? Was she ever convicted of being a stalker?” he wondered.

“And, at the moment, we are three four weeks into this series being aired on Netflix. No journalist in the world has managed to find out if there’s any conviction whatsoever.

“If that’s the case, Netflix’s claim at the start of every episode this is a true story is not true and she’ll be suing.”

Baby Reindeer stars Jessica Gunning, Richard Gadd and Nava Mau. Picture: Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for Netflix

Morgan said he is across defamation laws and is certain Harvey will receive a large cheque if she can prove this in court.

“I’m a journalist and former newspaper editor and I know if I called somebody a convicted stalker who admitted to the crime in court and it turned out that was not true, they would pay them a very large cheque. And I can’t see why this won’t be the case here,” he said.

“Now, it doesn’t mean I believe everything Fiona Harvey told me. I think she was lying a lot throughout the interview. I do think she sent Richard Gadd, who is of course the author of the story and the star of the Netflix series as well about his own life, I do think she sent him all those messages.

“[But] it’s not illegal to send people messages, it’s illegal to criminally stalk somebody. But if she has not been found guilty of that, then where does this lead not just Netflix but Richard Gadd and Clerkenwell Films that made the production – they are all in a very different position. Ultimately, if that one big fact is not true, I think it’s a huge defamation.”

Originally published as Piers Morgan responds to alleged Netflix ‘stalker’ demanding $1.9 million for sit-down interview