Baby Reindeer's Richard Gadd Issues Plea To Viewers About Real-Life Speculation

23 April 2024, 14:28 | Updated: 26 April 2024, 15:13

Baby Reindeer's Richard Gadd issues warning to viewers over real-life speculation. Picture: Netflix

By Katie Louise Smith

Creator, writer and star Richard Gadd has revealed that people he loves, has worked with and admire are "unfairly getting caught up in speculation" about who the characters are based on.

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Richard Gadd, the creator and writer of Netflix's Baby Reindeer has taken to social media to ask viewers to stop speculating and spreading false information about the real-life identities of some of its characters.

As conversation about the new Netflix series rises on social media, some viewers have felt the need to put their sleuthing hats on to search on social media for 'evidence', and try and find out who the likes of Martha and Darrien are based on.

Richard is now urging viewers to literally not do that (!), because it has now spiralled out of control and is affecting people in his life that have nothing to do with it.

On Instagram Stories, Richard wrote: "Hi Everyone, people I love, have worked with and admire (including Sean Foley) are unfairly getting caught up in speculation. Please don't speculate on who any of the real life people could be. That's not the point of our show. Lots of love, Richard xx"

Read more: Are Netflix's Baby Reindeer Emails Real? The True Story Behind Real-Life Martha's Emails

Richard Gadd issues urgent plea to viewers over speculation about the real-life characters. Picture: @mrrichardgadd via Instagram

While Baby Reindeer is based on Richard's true story, with many of his real life experiences used within the show's narrative, the show is fictionalised for "legal and artistic reasons." Richard confirmed to Forbes that Baby Reindeer is "100% emotionally true."

Explaining why that was necessary when creating the show, Richard said: "There’s certain protections, you can’t just continued somebody else’s life and name and put it onto television."

"And obviously, we were very aware that some characters in it are vulnerable people, so you don’t want to make their lives more difficult. So you have to change things to protect yourself and protect other people."

Watch the trailer for Netflix's Baby Reindeer series

Since the show has gone viral, viewers have been scouring the internet to find evidence of who Martha might be. But it's likely her identity will never be revealed or confirmed.

The fictionalised version of Martha in the show, played by Jessica Gunning, is apparently very different to Richard's real life stalker.

In an interview with GQ, Richard said: "We’ve gone to such great lengths to disguise her to the point that I don’t think she would recognise herself. What’s been borrowed is an emotional truth, not a fact-by-fact profile of someone."