A brief interaction progressed into an intense four-year period of stalking for a Scottish comedian, Richard Robert Steven Gadd. Born May 11, 1989 in the United Kingdom, Gadd created and starred in the 2024 Netflix drama series, baby Reindeer, which is based on a true story of his own experience with a stalker in his 20’s. Over the course of four and a half years Gadd’s stalker sent him 41,071 emails, 350 hours of voicemails, 744 tweets, 46 Facebook messages, and 106 handwritten letters. Other “weird” gifts include sleeping pills, a woolly hat, and a pair of boxer shorts. Alongside the gifts, Gadd was stalked outside of his home, workplace, and his comedy club; the stalking progressed to his loved ones such as his parents and a trans woman he had dated. “At first everyone at the pub thought it was funny that I had an admirer,” said Gadd. This reveals why the stalking had progressed to a long period of time because Gadd as well as others saw the stalker as a harmless joke . A seven-episode series, Baby Reindeer, presents a fictionalized version of Gadd, referring to himself as “Donny Dun ” which shares a glimpse into a difficult true story. Gadd’s social awkwardness and PTSD emerges itself alongside a lack of support for male victims of sexual assault. The story begins after Gadd was groomed, raped, and repeatedly sexually assaulted by an older successful TV writer. He portrays his stalkers as a classic sexist and anti-fat stereotype who’s lonely, awkward, and middle aged. The woman, also called Martha in the series, is characterized as overweight and mentally unwell. In an interview with Gadd he states, “…I felt sorry for her…one act of kindness changed my life forever.” As time progressed with his stalker numerous police visits were made. Gadd states he was “getting told off” by police because he was harassing them about being harassed. Gadd also reveals how he has been involved in two police investigations where both have been “hilarious, fly on the wall terrible.”

Who’s the Stalker? 

The series drew more than thirteen million viewers in its first release drawing a large amount of media attention. As Gadd produces and writes Baby Reindeer he does an excellent job in keeping details private for anyone iinvolved. “We’ve gone to such great lengths to disguise her to the point that I don’t think she would recognize herself.” However, on April 26, 2024, the alleged stalker who was influenced by the character, Martha, told the Daily mail she’s considering legal actions towards Gadd. This caused Gadd to make an announcement for the viewers; “If you like the show and you are a fan of it, you should stick with the story of Martha and Donny and not try to do detective work.” For now the stalker remains anonymous and freely walking due to the fact Gadd didn’t want her to be in prison with her level of mentality. As a result the intense trauma experienced affected how Gadd lives his everyday life. He stated how he couldn’t leave his life separated from what he’s been through. 

Extra Information…..

Gadd identifies as bisexual, he is an ambassador for for We Are Survivors, a UK charity dedicated to helping male survivors of sexual abuse, Gadd himself is a survivor of sexual abuse by a manipulative abuser. The series is all emotionally true, revealing his real-life period of when Gadd was stalked. The series is all borrowed from instances that happened to Gadd and real life people he had met. Despite Martha’s threats against Gadd, there isn’t much of a legal case. Though this isn’t a real life case it is a real life event that took place in Gadd’s early years that challenges many aspects of sexual assault, mental health issues, trauma, and abuse. The Netflix series, Baby Reindeer, can be tough to watch however the skilled writing involved helps move the story along brilliantly.