Baby Reindeer star Richard Gadd has been slammed for ‘not doing enough’ to protect the identity of his stalker after internet sleuths claimed to find her online.
The 34-year-old plays the lead Donny in the Netflix series which is based on his Edinburgh Fringe show about his own experiences of being stalked by a woman – called Martha Scott in the series – and sexually abused by a high profile comedy agent.
He previously made it clear that he’s changed names and specific details of the story to protect the identities of those involved, even claiming that ‘Martha’ ‘would not even recognise herself’ in hit show.
However since the series aired, fans have gone crazy over potential theories on who each of the characters could be in reality, with some claiming to have found the actual real life Martha’s identity.
Taking to X fans of the show criticised the series for not doing enough to protect the stalker’s identity with one person saying: ‘How can he say they went to great lengths to protect her identity?! They literally changed her name and nothing else. Surely they knew this would happen.’
Another wrote: ‘I thought he stated that the character profile of Martha was so much removed from the original stalker even she’d not be able to identify herself?’
Referring to a woman fans think is Martha, they continued: ‘If this is her, it doesn’t seem very far removed…either way once I watched I wondered how long it would take for.’
Another agreed saying: ‘Yeah there’s absolutely no chance that they will be shocked at this unraveling so quickly and easily lol.’
Someone else wrote: ‘People actually found the real Martha’s Twitter and engaging with it? A known looney stalker woman is who people want to engage with? Ain’t no way.’
Another said: ‘It bothers me that the show didn’t do enough to conceal her identity in the first instance. If it’s not her, then they’ve implicated the wrong person. And if it is, well who knows how she would take it. So wrong. And like you say, missed the point of the show.’
People have suggested that enough details of the real stalker’s life, and her messages to Gadd were included in the drama that amateur investigators were allegedly able to identify her online.
Similarly, as internet sleuths try to track down Gadd’s TV executive abuser people in the public eye are being hounded by speculation.
Now Gadd has been forced to ask people to stop trying to figure it out, because it is leading to false accusations against his friends.
He wrote on his Instagram page about how ‘people I love, have worked with, and admire’ were being targeted unfairly.
He added: ‘Please don’t speculate on who any of the real life people could be. That’s not the point of the show.’
Gadd previously told GQ: ‘We’ve gone to such great lengths to disguise her to the point that I don’t think she would recognise herself.’
The comedian added that the story is based on an ’emotional truth’ rather than a ‘fact-by-fact profile of someone’.
He told the Independent at the time: ‘I can’t emphasise enough how much of a victim she is in all this.
‘Stalking and harassment is a form of mental illness. It would have been wrong to paint her as a monster, because she’s unwell, and the system’s failed her.’
The Netflix series sees Martha given a prison sentence for her offences but Gadd hasn’t divulged the fate of his own stalker, except to say the issue has been resolved and he never wanted to ‘throw someone who was that level of mentally unwell in prison’.
When asked whether the release of the show might increase her obsessive behaviours, Gadd told the outlet: ‘I have to admit that it hasn’t. Maybe seeing this in the press has made her think twice about her behaviour.’
Baby Reindeer delves into Richard’s harrowing real-life stalking ordeal and brutal sexual abuse as he plays a fictionalised version of himself called Donny Dunn.
Donny is flooded with 41,071 emails, 744 tweets, 350 voicemails and 106 pages of letters from stalker Martha, played by Jess Gunning. The series also details Donny’s horrifying rape at the hands of his comedy mentor, Darrien, played by Tom Goodman-Hill.
Darrien coaxes Donny to come to his flat and get high on drugs, by promising him that TV producers are interested in his work. However while on drugs he sexually assaults Donny multiple times.
Mr Gadd has opened up about what it was like to re-enact his trauma for the small screen – and how he hopes it will aid his healing process.
On reliving his ‘severe’ twenties, Mr Gadd told Attitude: ‘It’s hugely challenging, but I hope for catharsis when the show comes out.’
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.
