“Baby Reindeer” is the show any true crime fan would love to binge-watch, and for good reason. It follows Scottish comedian Richard Gadd’s experience with a female stalker in his 20s.
However, the woman has come forward to dispute some facts presented in the series. It begs the question, what really happened? And why does the woman claiming to be Martha now threaten to sue Gadd?
What “Baby Reindeer” Is All About
Richard Gadd’s thriller miniseries may attract the ire of one character it focuses on. However, she is not a target of the storytelling, though she plays a big part in its telling. The show follows the story of Donny (Gadd), a survivor of sexual assault and events that upset his life and ambitions so much that he still hasn’t recovered.
The story begins when he meets his stalker, Martha (Jessica Gunning), but the details of his assault are not told until the fourth episode, which deals with the grooming and manipulation that played a part in his abuse.
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Gadd says the story is “very emotionally true” and has admitted to being both “severely stalked and severely abused.” “But we wanted it to exist in the sphere of art, as well as protect the people it’s based on,” he said.
Since the show’s release, Gadd has tried to quell the ambition of viewers who suddenly become sleuths overnight. He has asked them to stop trying to identify the real identities of those the story is about.
“Please don’t speculate on who any of the real-life people could be. That’s not the point of our show,” he wrote in an Instagram story, adding that people in his life are “unfairly getting caught up in speculation.”
Is Baby Reindeer Based on a True Story?
Yes, “Baby Reindeer” is based on the events that follow Gadd as a fictionalized version of himself named Donny Dunn, a struggling comedian and bartender stalked by a woman named Martha. Gadd first encounters the lonely woman when he serves her a free cup of tea at the bar where he works.
It was a random act of kindness, but he regrets it because Martha stalked him for the next three years. Jessica Gunning, who plays Martha, said: “She sends him 41,000 emails and hundreds of hours worth of voice messages. But it’s not your conventional stalker storyline.”
Martha also sent him various weird gifts, including a reindeer toy, sleeping pills, a woolly hat, and boxer shorts. She obsessively stalked Gadd outside of his home, workplace, and on stage in comedy clubs, and even went as far as harassing his loved ones, including his parents and a trans woman he got involved with.
“At first, everyone at the pub thought it was funny that I had an admirer,” Gadd said in an interview. “Then she started to invade my life, following me, turning up at my gigs, waiting outside my house, sending thousands of voicemails and emails.”
When Gadd eventually sought help from the police, they told him off for harassing them about being harassed. His experience taught him a valuable lesson: the process of pressing charges is a “nightmare.”
Meet the Core Baby Reindeer Cast
The main characters on which the show hinges are Donny Dunn, played by Richard Gadd, and Martha, played by Jessica Gunning. The other major casts introduced in the show include Nava Mau as Teri, Tom Goodman-Hill as Darrien, and Shalom Brune-Franklin as Keeley.
Who is Teri?
Teri is a London-based American therapist who meets Donny on a dating site but isn’t impressed with his treatment of her. “When I was reading the script, it felt like the first time reading a character that was written by someone who actually had known and loved a trans woman,” said Mau, who is a trans woman.
“And it felt like an honor to even get to read the script because of Richard’s vulnerability. There’s a light that I think pulsates out of that kind of vulnerability, and so all of the characters in the story then are cast in that light. And I felt that in that first read of Teri.”
Who is Darrien?
Darrien is a TV comedy writer who meets Donny at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Tom Goodman-Hill plays the character. He previously appeared in television series like “Humans,” “Ideal,” “The Devil’s Whore,” “Mr Selfridge,” and “Inside No. 9.” He is also the husband of actress Jessica Raine.
Who is Keeley and Liz?
Keeley is Donny’s ex-girlfriend. She is played by Shalom Brune-Franklin, who is linked with “The Tourist” and “Line of Duty.” Liz is her mother. She allows Donny to continue living with her after his break-up with Keeley.
Nina Sosanya plays Liz. You may recognize her from Channel 4 comedy-drama “Screw,” Prime Video series “Good Omens” and BBC drama “Killing Eve.”
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Do Baby Reindeer and Martha Exist in Real Life?
“Baby Reindeer” is a fictional work, but it is based on true-life events that happened in creator Richard Gadd’s life. The comedian plays a version of himself named Donny Dunn in the show and recalls the harrowing experience of being the object of a middle-aged woman’s obsession.
Who Is Baby Reindeer Based On?
The show is based on real-life events that happened to Richard Gadd, a man who finds himself being stalked by a middle-aged woman he was nice to once. While his actions were an act of kindness, he soon regretted it as his meeting with the woman turned out to be a nightmare.
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