The True Story Behind Baby Reindeer: Comedian Richard Gadd Escaped His Stalker

Netflixs Baby Reindeer is a new miniseries with a twist. Baby Reindeer, released April 11, is based on Scottish comedian, actor and writer Richard Gadds own experience with a stalker and sexual predator in his 20s. Gadd stars as Donny Dunn, who is stalked by a woman named Martha he met in a bar he

Netflix‘s “Baby Reindeer” is a new miniseries with a twist.

“Baby Reindeer,” released April 11, is based on Scottish comedian, actor and writer Richard Gadd‘s own experience with a stalker and sexual predator in his 20s. Gadd stars as Donny Dunn, who is stalked by a woman named Martha he met in a bar he worked at.

The official Netflix synopsis reads, “When a struggling comedian shows one act of kindness to a vulnerable woman, it sparks a suffocating obsession which threatens to wreck both their lives.”

Gadd said he was stalked for four years by a woman who called him “Baby Reindeer.” At the beginning, Gadd and his friends didn’t think much of it, until things started to amp up. He was harassed with 41,071 emails, 350 hours of voicemail, 744 tweets, 46 Facebook messages and 106 pages of letters. She also sent him gifts including a reindeer toy, sleeping pills, a woolly hat and boxer shorts.

Related Stories

Samsung TV Plus logo with speed lines behind it VIP+

Why Samsung’s FAST Platform Could Be Poised for Its Breakout Moment 

LACO 3 ARTISANS

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra Receives $2 Million Gift for New Orchestral Works by Media Composers

“At first everyone at the pub thought it was funny that I had an admirer,” Gadd told the U.K.’s The Times. “Then she started to invade my life, following me, turning up at my gigs, waiting outside my house, sending thousands of voicemails and emails.”

Popular on Variety

Gadd told The Guardian he did some things wrong and could have handled the situation better.

“I wasn’t a perfect person [back then], so there’s no point saying I was,” Gadd admitted. “And I know as I’m doing those sections that people are thinking I’m not a nice person – which make them difficult to perform.”

Gadd wanted to paint a clear picture of what stalking is with “Baby Reindeer” and not glamorize this behavior.

“Stalking on television tends to be very sexed-up. It has a mystique. It’s somebody in a dark alleyway. It’s somebody who’s really sexy, who’s very normal, but then they go strange bit by bit,” Gadd told Netflix’s Tudum. “But stalking is a mental illness. I really wanted to show the layers of stalking with a human quality I hadn’t seen on television before. It’s a stalker story turned on its head. It takes a trope and turns it on its head.”

“Baby Reindeer” stars Gadd, Nava Mau and Jessica Gunning. The seven-episode miniseries is directed by Weronika Tofilska and produced by Matthew Mulot.

Read More About:

Jump to Comments

More from Variety

Most Popular

Must Read

Sign Up for Variety Newsletters

By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. // This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Variety Confidential

A Variety and iHeartRadio Podcast

ncG1vNJzZmiukae2psDYZ5qopV9nfXOAjq2taKaVrMBwrsCbsGaqlZ67pbHEq2StqqWaerTAzquwZqqZmLWivsNmnpqclGLAta3LpJyrZWFngHaFlmxna3Bf

 Share!