The Scot accused of being the real-life stalker portrayed in the hit Netflix show Baby Reindeer has claimed: “I’m the victim here.”
The woman has been identified by online sleuths as the inspiration for stalker “Martha” in the hit show – with writer Richard Gadd saying he wrote the series after his experience of being harassed by her.
But the woman, who lives in London, claims she has now been hit with death threats and is the one now being stalked as a result of the hit show.
Fans of the series turned detective to identify the real-life Martha in comic Gadd’s show, where an infatuated woman stalks him after he gives her a free cup of tea.
Speaking exclusively to the Record, the woman revealed her life has been turned upside down as a result of the Scots comedian’s “true story”.
She said: “I’m the victim here, not Richard Gadd. I’ve had death threats as a result of his show despite the fact that a lot of the things he claimed are just not true.
“Someone online said, ‘If I find you I will kill you’. A guy in North Carolina said that he and other people were going to stalk me
like I am supposed to have stalked Gadd.
“I got two hours’ sleep last night. I thought, what if his supporters really do things like that?” The middle-aged woman says she will not be silenced despite Gadd’s claim that he does not want people to find her because he is concerned for her mental health.
The real-life Martha, who the Record is not naming, is determined to put across her side of the story. The 58-year-old, who has a degree in law at Aberdeen University, said: “I have not watched Baby Reindeer but I have seen various things.
“I was in Richard Gadd’s company on occasions but I didn’t stalk him like he claims. His story is that this is a gross intrusion into my privacy. I haven’t seen him for 12 years.
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“I read that he had written that show for the festival four or five years ago and I thought, ‘Oh my God’. This weekend I Googled and stories about Richard Gadd and Baby Reindeer were all over the place in flashing lights.
“I had been aware four or five years ago about him calling the character Martha and I saw the photo of the actress. I don’t think I look like that woman actress playing Martha.
“Like that Johnny Depp and Amber Heard thing, I feel I’m being persecuted like Johnny Depp. I’m the Johnny Depp in this situation being attacked by crazy people on the internet.”
In real life, Gadd is a writer and comedian. His 2013 Edinburgh Fringe show Cheese & Crack Whores depicted Gadd being close to a mental breakdown due to the stalking he had endured.
In the TV show, he plays Donny, a failing comedian who is partially complicit in his ordeal in that he initially liked Martha’s attention, even flirting with her.
The real-life Martha said: “It is the number one thing on Netflix, I believe. I didn’t find any of it that funny. Obviously, I don’t want people to know where I live but I will not be silenced.”
Gadd claims to have been stalked for years after he gave his “stalker” a free cup of tea at the pub where he worked. His story has become the most talked about Netflix show in years.
According to ABC news, Baby Reindeer has already totted up 53million hours watched. The real-life Martha insists she does not welcome the attention, saying: “I want to put this to rest.
“I want nothing to do with him. He is a nightmare. I just want to get on with my life.” She added: “The scene of me in a cafe with him which I have been shown did not happen.
“I was in a bar and they were all having a carry on making jokes about knickers and pants and God knows what. I was in company with him two or three times max with other people around.
“It wasn’t a case of me going out with Gadd for a meal or going on picnics with him. There were always other people around and we have not slept together.”
Looking back to when she met Gadd, she added: “He was in a bar going on and on about it and treating me like a stalker and he said he liked to Google people and that he had read an article about me.
“He had clearly been putting it about the place that I was a stalker.”
Richard Gadd and Netflix have both been approached for comment.
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James Parker is a UK-based entertainment aficionado who delves into the glitz and glamour of the entertainment industry. From Hollywood to the West End, he offers readers an insider’s perspective on the world of movies, music, and pop culture.
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