Richard Gadd hopes Baby Reindeer legacy is the ‘good it did’ for some viewers
The Netflix hit is said to be inspired by the real-life experiences of Scottish comedian and writer Gadd, and sees his character Donny being stalked.
Baby Reindeer creator and star Richard Gadd has said he hopes the legacy of the show is how it helped some viewers better “understand themselves”.
The Netflix hit is said to be inspired by the real-life experiences of Scottish comedian and writer Gadd, and sees his character Donny being stalked by a woman called Martha, played by Jessica Gunning, after he serves her a free cup of tea in the pub where he works.
The show hit the headlines after Fiona Harvey, who came forward claiming to be the inspiration behind Martha, filed a lawsuit against Netflix as she alleges the story is inaccurate.
Speaking to US outlet Deadline about the show, Gadd said: “I hope that the legacy of Baby Reindeer 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 the way it helped them understand themselves.
“I think trauma responses are so difficult to understand when you’re going through them.
“To see a trauma response play out on a television show, I think, has been very comforting to people.”
Gadd said despite having now “explored every dark corner” of himself for the show, he still has days where he struggles with the “trauma” of the experience.
The comedian added a lot of people think of the drama as a “stalking show” but he feels it is about “loneliness, isolation, and the desperate need for connection”.
Reflecting on why he decided to delve into his personal experiences, he said: “I guess I was bored of 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 that, to bring that out in the world.
“I think we live in an age of almost moral enlightenment right now, where everyone is terrified of saying the wrong thing.
“So, to put my hand up in that age of moral enlightenment and be like ‘Oh, yeah, I made these f****** stupid mistakes’ was very daunting, and it’s still daunting in the aftermath in a lot of ways.
“But I think, at the same time, it has led to an appreciation of bringing the nuance back to the discussion about people, and people not being either good or bad, but being a little more nuanced than that.”
He added that he believes it would be a “good thing” if more people in the public eye are more honest about the struggles they are living through.
Gadd also revealed he has had some “daunting times” in the past few months since the show was released due to people writing hurtful comments online or shouting at him in the street.
He said: “I realise I’m twinned with this now. And that’s fine, because the majority of people are really kind and understanding, but there is definitely a section of society that has splintered off.
“They don’t want to hear about this stuff anymore, they can’t accept the nuances of it, and they think that I was, I don’t know, asking for it. That’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 and accused the streaming platform of defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, gross negligence and violations of her right of publicity.
The next day Gadd collected the prize for best breakthrough limited series at the inaugural Gotham TV Awards and said he was “forever grateful” to those who took on the show.
It has since been nominated for 11 Emmy Awards and has been recognised in the National Television Awards (NTAs) longlist.
After Baby Reindeer appeared on Netflix, Gadd asked viewers not to speculate over the people who inspired the series.
