Viewers have been fascinated by Netflix’s hit story Baby Reindeer, particularly since the story - about a comedian who becomes increasingly disturbed when a woman’s obsession with him turns into full-blown stalking - is based on real events.
Since the drama was released on the streaming platform, the internet has been full of armchair detectives trying to find the real-life counterparts of the characters - and now several people have claimed to have discovered the real-life ‘Martha’.
Fans of the show using TikTok, Reddit and X, formerly known as Twitter, have been sharing screenshots of a series of tweets sent in close succession by a woman to Richard Gadd in 2014.
According to The Guardian’s review of the Baby Reindeer play, which debuted at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2019, the ordeal took place “six years” earlier and went on for several years until Richard was finally able to obtain a restraining order, confirming that the tweets were sent within the right time frame. The posts also include references to things Martha messages to Donny in the drama. Since unearthing the tweets, fans also think that they have found her Instagram and Facebook pages.
Despite internet sleuths trying to discover the real Martha, Richard has always maintained that he would prefer to keep her identity private. As such, we won’t be sharing any of the details currently circulating on social media.
Speaking to GQ about his decision to keep her identity as private as possible, he explained that they went to “great lengths to disguise her to the point that [he didn’t] think she would recognise herself”. He added: “What’s been borrowed is an emotional truth, not a fact-by-fact profile of someone.”
Unlike the show, Richard also confirmed that the real Martha was never sentenced to prison, telling The Times that he “didn't want to throw someone who was that level of mentally unwell in prison”.
He has also spoken at length about feeling sorry for his stalker, telling Variety: “I have a bit of empathy overdrive sometimes. But it’s not like anything I’ve seen on television before.
“Stalking usually is depicted as someone who is kind of evil, whereas I felt like there was a vulnerable person who genuinely couldn’t stop, who for whatever reason had believed the reality that was inside her head and no matter what couldn’t change from that. I mean, it is a mental illness and I wanted to portray that. I did see someone who I felt sorry for.”
Viewers have been amazed by the show, with one posting: “There has never been before & will never be again a series like Baby Reindeer. Gosh. Utterly incredible, fittingly mesmerising. My jaw is consistently on the floor. I think we're often too fast in saying an artist/artwork is "brave", but this? Bravery personified.”
Another person posted: “I don’t think I’ve seen anything as gut-wrenching as #BabyReindeer in a while. It’s a perfect story about how healing is not linear and how running away from your trauma causes you to find comfort in all of the wrong places. 10/10.”