'Baby Reindeer': Woman lambasts Richard Gadd; calls herself a 'victim'
Netflix's latest drama, Baby Reindeer, has quickly become a global sensation, amassing over 13M views since its premiere two weeks ago. The series—inspired by the real-life experiences of Richard Gadd—follows the harrowing tale of a young man relentlessly stalked by a mentally unstable woman. Despite Gadd's plea to avoid speculating about the characters' real identities, a woman believed to be the real-life "Martha" (the stalker) is receiving death threats and abuse from some fans.
Why does this story matter?
Gadd penned and directed the seven-part mini-series, where he portrays the character of Donny Dunn, a rendition of himself. The incongruous title, Baby Reindeer, stems from the pet name bestowed upon Donny by his disturbed female stalker. Gadd revealed that he received 41,071 emails, 744 tweets, and letters totaling 106 pages, along with 350 hours of voicemail messages from an older woman over four years, 10 years ago. He refers to the woman as Martha (Jessica Gunning) in the show.
Woman claimed Gadd is using 'Baby Reindeer' to harass her
The woman—alleged to be the real-life Martha—has accused Gadd of "exploiting an older woman" for personal gain in a conversation with Daily Mail. She claimed that Gadd is using Baby Reindeer as a means to harass her, stating: "I'm the victim...He's written a bloody show about me." She denies being Gadd's stalker and disputes aspects of the drama, saying: "I've never owned a toy baby reindeer and I wouldn't have had any conversation with Richard about a childhood toy either."
'She sort of looks like me...'
The woman believed to be the real-life "Martha," a 58-year-old residing alone in a council flat, shares striking resemblances with her on-screen counterpart. Despite Gadd's assertion that he has safeguarded her identity by altering crucial details, the parallels between the two women are undeniable. Scottish, both are approximately 20 years older than Gadd. Furthermore, the woman bears an uncanny physical likeness to Martha: "She sort of looks like me after I put on four stone during lockdown...but I'm not unattractive."
Sean Foley, a friend of Gadd's, has been wrongly accused
Despite Gadd's and Gunning's pleas, social media platforms are rife with unfounded accusations attempting to reveal the characters' identities. Among those mistakenly accused is Sean Foley, a renowned actor, writer, and director who is a friend of Gadd's. Foley has been wrongly identified as Darrien, a character in the show who is depicted as grooming and sexually assaulting Donny, Gadd's character. These slanderous, abusive posts have been reported to the police by Foley.
Meanwhile, Gunning expressed her disapproval of the speculation
Gunning has also expressed her disapproval of the speculation, describing it as "not the point of the show at all." She told BBC: "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 any real identities." She added that Netflix took significant measures to safeguard the identities of those involved, including using pseudonyms for characters.
