As the real life Martha from Baby Reindeer — Fiona Harvey — gears up for her trial against the Netflix series’ creator Richard Gadd, the actress who portrayed her — Jessica Gunning — has just won big at the Emmys 2024.
Gunning took out the award for most outstanding supporting actress in a limited series or movie for her role in the popular but controversial Netflix series.
She was up against Aja Naomi King, Dakota Fanning, Diane Lane, Kali Reis, Lily Gladstone and Nava Mau for the title.
Jessica Gunning during her acceptance speech. (Credit: Getty)
She began her Emmys speech by saying: “Thank you so much! I honestly feel like I’m going to wake up any minute now, this whole thing has been a dream. Thank you very, very much indeed. I’m so incredibly proud to be part of Baby Reindeer. So I would just love to say a huge ‘thank you’ to everybody who let me, really.”
She went on to address Gadd directly, who looked up at her with pride from the Emmys 2024 audience.
Gunning said her “biggest thank you” goes to Gadd, adding that: “I’ve tried so many times to put into words what working on Baby Reindeer meant to me and I fail every time.
“So I’m going to sing… no. No, I’ll keep it simple and just say thank you for trusting me to be your Martha,” adding that she will “never, ever forget her or you or this. It really means a lot.”
Back in June, Fiona Harvey officially sued Netflix for monetary damages of at least $170 million.
Harvey is suing Netflix for intentional infliction of emotional distress, defamation, negligence and violations of her right of publicity, claiming the show told “brutal lies” about her through the character of Martha, who she claims is based on her. Show creator Richard Gadd, however, is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit.
Gadd has spoken out about the lawsuit, sharing how “exhausting and extremely upsetting” the stalking he allegedly experienced was for him.
In a 21-page document, Gadd described years of “stalking, harassment, abuse and threats” he allegedly suffered from the plaintiff between 2014 and 2017.
In his court filing, Gadd outlined how Baby Reindeer is a “fictionalised retelling of my emotional journey through several extremely traumatic real experiences”.
