Netflix has failed in its attempt to persuade a judge to throw out a defamation lawsuit brought by the woman who inspired the stalker character in hit series Baby Reindeer. Fiona Harvey claims the streaming giant told "brutal lies" about her to more than 50 million viewers around the world.

Coming off an armful of big Emmy wins earlier this month, Baby Reindeer and Netflix took a big hit today as a federal judge ruled the big bucks defamation case against the dark comedy and the streamer will go forward.

The series follows the life of Donny Dunn, a barman and struggling comedian, who is stalked by a woman called Martha Scott, with viewers being told from the outset the story is "true". Scottish lawyer Fiona Harvey says the story falsely accused her of being a convicted stalker.