Baby Reindeer sees comedian Richard Gadd bring his award-winning play to Netflix. Richard will play a fictional version of himself called Donny Dunn as the series focuses on his real-life experience with a female stalker and the trauma it forced him to face head on.
The Outlaws star Jessica Gunning plays his stalker ‘Martha’, who becomes obsessed after Richard serves her in the pub and gives her a free cup of tea.
“I think no matter how flawed I am in the story, and no matter how difficult it is to watch, a story like that needs to be told,” Richard previously said about his hit play. “It does drain you. Talking about stuff that’s real is exhausting. Because it’s vulnerable, and some parts still hurt, and some parts still feel awkward and messy.”
Here’s everything you need to know about the Netflix series adaptation of Baby Reindeer…
Baby Reindeer release date
Baby Reindeer is an eight-episode series that launches on Netflix from Thursday April 11 2024.
Is there a trailer for Baby Reindeer?
Yes you can watch both the official trailer and a teaser trailer for Baby Reindeer below. You can also see a trailer for Richard Gadd's previous stage play of Baby Reindeer below the teaser...
Baby Reindeer plot
Baby Reindeer sees Richard Gadd play a fictionalised version of himself called Donny Dunn and the story will follow Richard's own experience at the hands of a woman who became obsessed with him. He gave her a free cup of tea in the pub where he worked and admits he initially flirted with her out of pity.
But then ‘Martha’ started a terrifying stalking campaign, including sending him 41,071 emails, 350 hours of voicemail, 744 tweets, 46 Facebook messages, 106 pages of letters, sleeping pills, a woolly hat, a pair of brand-new boxer shorts and a cuddly reindeer toy. She also turned up at his comedy gigs and waited outside his house. In the series, Richard also examines his own culpability and explores why the law failed to help him.
Baby Reindeer cast — Richard Gadd on playing himself as Donny Dunn
Comedian Richard Gadd brings to life his real-life experience with a stalker by playing fictionalised Donny Dunn in Baby Reindeer.
"In the height of it all, I would go to bed at night and still hear her in my ears. Her voice swirling around my head," Richard recalls. ‘Her words leaping around my eyelids as I tried to sleep. Sometimes it was like she was there in the room with me. In the bed beside me, even."
We see how Richard met Martha when he was working in a pub and gave her a free cup of tea. But then Martha became obsessed, bombarding him with messages, sending him gifts and turning up at his shows and outside his home. At the time Richard had just won the Edinburgh Comedy Award for his show Monkey See Monkey Do, which detailed the sexual abuse he suffered as a newcomer to the industry.
Richard admits.: "It was a big moment for me. Coming clean with what happened after so many years suffering in silence. But any good feeling was tempered by my phone ringing every single minute of every day where I was met with a whole gamut of Martha’s emotions from hurled insults to deep expressions of love and longing. It was too much for anyone to bear.
"I would be lying if I said I was not back exactly where I was all those years ago. Fearing the worst. Praying for the best. Hoping that in among all the messy, complicated themes Baby Reindeer throws at you that people might take notice of its beating heart."
* Richard Gadd previously starred in Wedding Season, Code 404, Outlander, Humans and Truth Serum.
Jessica Gunning as 'Martha'
Jessica Gunning plays obsessed stalker 'Martha' in Baby Reindeer. She perviously played Diane Pemberley in the hit BBC1 series The Outlaws and has also starred in the movie Pride, plus Summerland, Fortitude, White Heat, Law and Order: UK and Trollied.
Who else is starring in Baby Reindeer?
Baby Reindeer also stars The Sandman’s Danny Kirrane who plays Gino while newcomer Nava Mau is Teri and Tom Goodman-Hill (Hustle) is Darrien.
Hugh Coles, Jamie Michie, Joe Bone, Charlie Bentley, Nicol Shaw, Guy Robbins, Chloe Driver and Nicholas McCluskey round out the cast.
Behind the scenes, locations and more on Baby Reindeer
Filming on Baby Reindeer took place in 2022 and 2023 at Edinburgh's grassmarket and also in London. The series is directed by Weronika Tofilska and Josephine Bornebusch. It was produced and created by Clerkenwell Films.
