The Shocking True Story Behind Netflix’s Hit Series Baby Reindeer

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Netflix’s Baby Reindeer.

Baby reindeer is a stalker story that rejects all the usual TV clichés.

The creator’s new Netflix miniseries Richard Gadd depicts struggling comedian Donny’s experience with a stalker named Martha (played by Jessica Gunning) and addresses complex themes of trauma, mental health and sexual assault.

Within days of its debut, Baby Reindeer has already climbed to number one on Netflix UK’s most-watched series list and is dominating online conversations thanks to its chilling yet complex portrayal of themes that are so often over-dramatised in popular culture.

However, what you may not know is that the drama is based on real-life experiences from Richard’s life, which he previously revealed in his one-man play of the same name at the Edinburgh Fringe.

Now adapted for the big screen, viewers are wondering how much truth there is in this series. Read on to find out all the facts behind Baby Reindeer…

That first cup of tea

In the first episode of Baby Reindeer, Donny meets Martha at her job in a pub and kindly offers her a cup of tea on the house when she insists she can’t afford a drink.

And so began Richard Gadd’s ordeal as a victim of harassment.

“At first, everyone in the pub thought it was funny that I had a female admirer,” he told The Times. “Then she started invading my life, following me, showing up at my gigs, waiting outside my house, sending me thousands of voice messages and emails.”

The incessant emails and text messages

Richard’s real stalker actually sent him over 40,000 emails, 740 social media posts and 350 hours of voicemails over a five-year period.

Not only that, but every email you see on the show is a real message he actually received.

The police response

The TV show shows Donny receiving a rather dismissive response from the police after finally filing a report on Martha.

Donny’s struggle to be taken seriously by law enforcement was also true for Richard.

“I was being reprimanded for harassing the police because I was being harassed… I’ve been the subject of two police investigations in my life and they were both hilarious, terrible and pointless,” he told the Guardian in 2019.

“Honestly, my advice to someone considering filing a lawsuit would be: it’s a fucking nightmare and it takes years.”

Things between Richard and his stalker started out as a friendship

Baby Reindeer shows Donny trying to maintain friendly relations with Martha, before things turn more sinister.

Richard has previously claimed to have made decisions that didn’t always help matters when dealing with his stalker. The actor and comedian told Hello! that he “made mistakes” in his handling of the delicate situation.

Richard told Netflix it was “stupid” of him to give in to his stalker’s “pure, unadulterated adoration” of him while he was going through a personal crisis, admitting he was “using someone.”

Jessica Gunning, who plays Martha, also spoke about the “mistakes” depicted in the series, telling Netflix’s Tudum: “Sometimes Donny would play into her fantasy: He’d flirt back, and she’d be absolutely thrilled. He just doesn’t know how obsessed she would become.”

Donny’s Sexual Assault

Baby Reindeer isn’t just a thoughtful depiction of the mental health complications behind the ordeals of bullying. Episode four also features a harrowing sexual assault in flashback, where it’s revealed that an older TV writer named Darrien (Tom Goodman-Hill) drugged Donny and raped him.

It is also a true story from Richard’s life, which he attempted to unpack in his award-winning Edinburgh Comedy show, Monkey See Monkey Do.

“The primal aspect of abuse is very strong,” he told Refinery29 in 2017. “On the outside, you feel like an empty shell, but on the inside, you feel like a raging fire.”

He also discussed the long-term psychological consequences of this situation.

“Assaults go on for years, but people tend to think of it as an incident,” he says. “People think of rape as the moment of penetration. But it goes on forever.”

“It was a hell of a job to write and shoot,” he told Netflix of the sequence.

Martha’s personality

The series has unexpectedly led many viewers to wonder to what extent Richard’s real stalker is represented in the character of Martha.

However, this is one aspect of the show where the actor and screenwriter has suggested that he takes some creative freedom.

Richard told GQ that they had “gone to great lengths to disguise her to the point where I don’t think she would recognize herself.” He added: “What was borrowed is an emotional truth, not a detailed profile of someone.”

But Richard also told the publication that the series as a whole was “pretty true to the truth,” explaining: “Any time it veered too much toward embellishment, I always wanted to take it back. It’s extremely true to the emotional truth.”

“Of course, it’s a medium where structure is very important, you have to change things to protect people… but I like to think, artistically, that it’s never been too far from the truth.”

Martha’s Destiny

Martha’s story in Baby Reindeer ends with her arrest and trial for a threatening voicemail. She is charged with stalking and harassment and pleads guilty before being sentenced to nine months in prison and a five-year protective order.

However, Richard never revealed what really happened to his stalker – but he did confirm that he had obtained a restraining order against her.

Richard also recently told the Times: “It’s settled. I had mixed feelings about it – I didn’t want to throw someone in prison who was in such a mental state.”

Baby Reindeer is now available on Netflix.

Help and Support:

• Rape crisis services for women and girls who have been raped or experienced sexual violence – 0808 802 9999

• Survivors UK offers support to men and boys – 0203 598 3898

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