The smash hit Netflix show Baby Reindeer is all that anyone can talk about at the moment, especially since the identity of Richard Gadd’s talker ‘Martha’ from the show appears to have been discovered. A woman who claimed that ‘Martha’ stalked her for several years has come forward with her own experience.
MORE: Baby Reindeer star Richard Gadd reveals family's reaction to real-life stalker drama
Lawyer Laura Wray recognised ‘Martha’ from her own ordeal after watching the hit drama. Laura had offered ‘Martha’ a work trial at her company. She told the Daily Mail: “It brought so many things back to me that I'd forgotten. She did the same to me, made my life a nightmare. He has got her spot-on. His reaction was exactly the same as mine. I felt sorry for her.
“She told me a real hard-luck story about how she had no family support and how she got her law degree and was looking for a traineeship, but nobody would give her one. I had my reservations. She was terribly upfront, telling me all this very personal stuff. Before we even met, she sent me a postcard congratulating me on my engagement to Jimmy. But basically, I felt sorry for her.”
She revealed that she eventually asked ‘Martha’ to leave after she was rude at work, hit another member of staff with a book and had been recommending other solicitors to potential clients while manning the phones.
Speaking about when she let ‘Martha’ go she said: “I fired her after a week. She was furious and threatened that she'd do this, that and the other to me… She started shouting, 'Jimmy Wray will rue the day’. Some of the girls in the office were shaking and upset and thought she was going to attack me or some of the other staff. Eventually, she was escorted out, still calling me vile names, and was later spotted circling the office in her car.”
‘Martha’ then began following Laura, who had started a course at the University of Strathclyde, into her lectures, but the university did nothing at the time. She left threatening voicemails, including leaving a death threat against Laura’s late husband, MP Jimmy Wray.
‘Martha’ also reported the couple to social services regarding their severely disabled son, Frankie. Two social workers visited the property, with Laura explaining: “[The woman] had claimed we hit our son and I was forced to explain all the background.
“The social workers thankfully believed me but it was just dreadful, and I was absolutely furious. This is a child who couldn't walk or speak, couldn't do anything for himself. To think that someone could suggest we would do this [harm him] is vicious and cruel.” She was subsequently granted a restraining order.
In Baby Reindeer, Laura’s story is alluded to when Richard’s character Donny researches Martha and finds a news story where she ‘targets barrister’s deaf child’.
‘Martha’ has shared her own perspective on the Netflix show, telling the Daily Record: “I'm the victim here, not Richard Gadd. I’ve had death threats as a result of his show despite the fact that a lot of the things he claimed are just not true.
“Someone online said, 'If I find you I will kill you'. A guy in North Carolina said that he and other people were going to stalk me like I am supposed to have stalked Gadd. I got two hours of sleep last night. I thought, what if his supporters really do things like that?”