Baby Reindeer: the Fife actor/writer behind dark new Netflix hit wowing audiences

Richard Gadd, from Wormit, writes and stars in the seven part series which launched on the streaming platform last week to widespread acclaim, and a rare 100% approval rating on RottenTomatoes, the review-aggregation website for film and television.

Baby Reindeer began life at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2019 - three years after he won ‘best comedy show’ with Monkey See, Monkey Do, which was a deeply personal show about a sexual assault he suffered, and the impact it had on his life. It was one of the most sought-after shows on the Fringe, with audiences queueing outside the venue, an underground cavern, for hours in advance to try to get a seat, and hundreds being turned away.

The award saw Gadd, a former Madras College pupil, scoop a £10,000 cash prize.

As an actor he has gone on to appear in a number of shoes, including BAFTA-nominated BBC2 drama Against the Law, and as a writer his credits include the hit series Sex Education on Netflix and Channel 4’s long-running topical news show, The Last Leg.

In Baby Reindeer, Gadd plays a thinly fictionalised version of himself as a stand-up comedian dealing with a stalker - the title comes from a nickname given to him by her.

His own experience saw him receive tens of thousands of emails and voice-mails from a woman called named Martha, whose initially friendly demeanor changes as she begins to stalk him relentlessly over a five-year period - but because her messages weren't overtly threatening or violent, there was little the police could do to intervene.

It is dark and often deeply uncomfortable viewing as Gadd looks to highlight that stalking is a mental illness, and shows how her actions go deep into the territory of obsession. Fans have rated it as “absolutely riveting” and “exceptional - the story keeps you hooked, a hidden gem.”

> Baby Reindeer is currently streaming on Netflix