Ever since Baby Reindeer first premiered on Netflix to widespread acclaim and massive viewership figures, audiences have been determined to use their online sleuthing skills to try and uncover the identity of the inspirations behind the show’s characters .
Creator, writer, executive producer, and star Richard Gadd’s one-man show, which originally took place at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, of the same name that served as the basis for the seven-episode miniseries was well-known to have been based on his own experiences. However, there was nowhere near the same clamour to find out who these people may or may not be until it was adapted for the small screen.
Gadd and other co-stars have been urging fans for weeks not to dedicate themselves to trying to discover who the real people are that inspired their dramatised counterparts on-screen, but their pleas fell on deaf ears. As a result, Fiona Harvey came forward to reveal herself as the alleged inspiration behind Martha, with the lawyer threatening to sue both Netflix and Gadd for the torrent of abuse she’s suffered.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter – which was conducted before Harvey’s conversation with Piers Morgan – Gadd once again refused to be drawn on the speculation, even if it’s too little too late in one particular case.
“I can’t confirm or deny anything relating to the real life people who the characters are based on in the show,” he explained. “I know for every single part, there’s been about five or six people who have been sort of named as each part, even all the way down to the pub manager. The internet’s always going to do its thing. I can’t really comment on that.”
Although Gadd admits he doesn’t “agree with the sleuth thing” and he’s “put out a statement publicly saying I want the show to be received as a piece of art,” the online sphere has taken it upon itself to try and dig a little deeper.
“If I wanted the real life people to be found, I would’ve made it a documentary,” he continued. “I’ve spoken publicly about how I don’t want people to do it and if I start playing a game of whack-a-mole, then I’m almost adding to it. I don’t think I’ll ever comment on it ever again.”
Harvey has already gone public and intimated that she’ll be seeking legal action, though, with Gadd’s insistence that Baby Reindeer fans separate the art from its inspirations continuing to go unheeded.
