'Real-life Martha' hits back at Baby Reindeer and Richard Gadd and says 'I'm the victim here'
A Scottish woman people believe was the inspiration for one of the characters in Baby Reindeer has hit back, saying 'I am the victim here' and slammed Netflix's smash-hit series
The woman accused of being the real-life stalker depicted in Netflix 's sensation Baby Reindeer has spoken out, insisting: "I'm the victim here."
Identified by internet detectives as the muse for the character Martha in the series, she's been thrust into the spotlight after writer Richard Gadd based the show on his own experiences of being harassed by her.
The Scottish woman, who now resides in London, says she has received "death threats as a result of his show" and claims the Netflix series "is a gross intrusion into my privacy" - adding: "I don't want people to know where I live but I will not be silenced."
READ MORE - Netflix's Baby Reindeer star Richard Gadd issues urgent plea as fans seek out real ‘Martha’
The chilling tale of Baby Reindeer dates back a decade when Gadd was making waves on the UK comedy scene with shows like Breaking Gadd, Waiting for Gaddot, and Monkey See Monkey Do. Yet, behind the scenes of his rising fame, Gadd was living through a nightmare.
An obsessive fan began to hound the comedian after he innocently offered her a free cup of tea while working, triggering a relentless harassment campaign that flipped his world on its head. "At its peak, it was almost unbearable," Gadd confessed in a Channel 4 interview.
Gadd turned his trauma into a comedy show and later a hit Netflix series, which was released earlier this month. Despite Gadd calling for viewers not to focus on working out the real-life inspirations for the show's characters, many Baby Reindeer fans managed to unmask the actual Martha from Gadd's narrative.
Speaking to the Daily Record, the woman accused of being the real-life Martha says her life has been flipped on its head due to the Scottish comedian's dramatised retelling, and ironically, has been stalked since Baby Reindeer became an overnight success and captured the nation's interest.
"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," the Scottish woman says, adding: "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."
The woman, who wishes to remain unnamed, is a 58-year-old law graduate from Aberdeen University. She tells the publication how she has not yet watched Baby Reindeer but has seen "various things". Denying Gadd's allegations that she stalked him, she declares: "I was in Richard Gadd's company on occasions but I didn't stalk him like he claims. His story is a gross intrusion into my privacy. I haven't seen him for 12 years."
In Baby Reindeer, Martha is played by actress Jessica Gunning, who in a recent interview called for people to stop searching for the real-life Martha. In her interview with the Daily Record, the woman accused of being Martha said of Gunning's portrayal: "I don't think I look like that woman actress playing Martha."
The unnamed woman's comments come as a police investigation is launched after fans of Gadd mistakenly identified someone as the comedian's sexual abuser, resulting in a flood of online harassment and threats. In the fourth episode of the seven-part series, viewers are given a graphic portrayal of Gadd's character, Donny, being sexually abused by a fictional male TV writer named Darrien.
This sparked wild speculation among viewers trying to pinpoint the real-life counterpart of the character. Following this, a man falsely accused by viewers has reported receiving menacing messages on social media, leading to police involvement. A British police spokesperson confirmed: "We're investigating after a man reported receiving threatening messages on social media. Enquiries are at an early stage and we are in the process of gathering information from the victim."
Gadd has urged the public to refrain from attempting to identify the actual people behind the characters in the show. Netflix has remained silent on the issue, raising questions about whether adequate measures were taken to protect the identities of those depicted in the series.
"It is the number one thing on Netflix, I believe. I didn't find any of it that funny. Obviously, I don't want people to know where I live but I will not be silenced," the real-life Martha says in her recent interview. She goes on to call writer and creator Gadd "a nightmare" and declare that she wants to "get on with the rest of my life".
Richard Gadd and Netflix have both been approached for comment.
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