Richard Gadd: ‘I hope Baby Reindeer’s legacy is the good it did for some viewers’

Baby Reindeer creator and star Richard Gadd said he hopes the show’s legacy is how it helped some viewers “understand each other better”.

The Netflix hit is said to be inspired by the real-life experiences of Scottish comedian and writer Gadd, and sees his character Donny stalked by a woman called Martha, played by Jessica Gunning, after he offers her a free cup of tea in the pub where he works.

The series hit the headlines after Fiona Harvey, who came forward claiming to be the inspiration behind Martha, filed a lawsuit against Netflix as she claims the story is inaccurate.

Speaking to US outlet Deadline about the show, Gadd said: “I hope that Baby Reindeer’s legacy that remains is really the kind of good that it did.

“The charity stuff, the comments from people who were moved by the show and how it helped them understand each other.

“I think responses to trauma are so hard to understand when you’re going through it.

“To see a response to trauma in a television show, I think it was very comforting for people.”

Gadd said that although he has now “explored every dark corner” of himself for the show, he still has days when he struggles with the “trauma” of the experience.

The comedian added that many people think of the drama as a “stalking show”, but he believes it’s about “loneliness, isolation and the desperate need for connection”.

Reflecting on why he decided to delve into his personal experiences, he said: “I think I got bored with artistic narratives where the central person is nothing but good.

“Life is very complicated and people are a mixture of positive and negative. I wanted to show this, get this out into the world.

“I think we live in an age of almost moral enlightenment now, where everyone is terrified of saying the wrong thing.

“So to raise my hand in that era of moral enlightenment and be like, ‘Oh yeah, I made these bloody stupid mistakes’ was very discouraging, and it’s still discouraging afterwards in a lot of ways.

“But I think at the same time it’s led to an appreciation of bringing nuance back into the discussion about people, and people are neither good nor bad, they’re a little more nuanced than that.”

He added that he thinks it would be a “good thing” if more people in the public eye were more honest about their struggles.

Gadd also revealed that he had some “daunting times” in the last few months since the show launched, due to people writing offensive comments online or shouting at him in the street.

He said: “I realize I’m twinned with it now. And that’s okay, because most people are really kind and understanding, but there is definitely a section of society that has broken.

“They don’t want to hear about this stuff anymore, they can’t take the nuances and I think I, I don’t know, asked for it. It’s very hard to live with.”

After Ms Harvey came forward claiming to be the inspiration behind Martha, she said in a statement to the PA news agency that “Baby Reindeer is not a true story at all” and added: “I am not a convicted stalker.”

In June, it was revealed that Ms Harvey had filed a lawsuit against Netflix, accusing the streaming platform of defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, gross negligence and breach of her right of publicity.

The next day, Gadd collected the award for Best Innovative Limited Series at the inaugural Gotham TV Awards and said he was “eternally grateful” to those who attended the show.

Since then, he has been nominated for 11 Emmy Awards and has been recognized in the National Television Awards (NTA) longlist.

After Baby Reindeer premiered on Netflix, Gadd asked viewers not to speculate about the people who inspired the show.

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