'BREAK THE SILENCE'

That's the message of the Scottish comedian who turned his experience of stalking and sexual abuse into a hit Netflix show

- MAXINE PETERS

A TOTAL of 41 000 emails, 350 voicemails, 744 tweets, 106 pages of letters and 46 Facebook messages.

That in a nutshell is the extent of the bombardment he received – and it was only after he’d been through six years of hell that he decided he was finally ready to tell his story.

And what a harrowing story it is. Baby Reindeer, Netflix’s new seven-part psychological drama-thriller, is as gripping as it is disturbing – and making it all the more chilling is the fact it’s based on a true story.

Scottish comedian Richard Gadd created, wrote and acted in Baby Reindeer and it has transformed him into one of the standout stars of 2024.

The show made Netflix’s top-10 series list less than a week after its release and earned a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Richard (34) plays Donny Dunn, a struggling comedian working as a barman. One day a woman called Martha (played by Jessica Gunning) comes into the pub in tears and Donny offers her a cup of tea on the house. 

This ruddy-cheeked, middle-aged woman gives him the pet name “baby reindeer” and she seems harmless enough at first – but she quickly turns Donny’s life upside down as she becomes obsessed with him, stalking and threatening him and his loved ones.

The show is based on Richard’s own terrifying experience and overlaps with a period in his twenties when he was dealing with the aftermath of severe sexual abuse at the hands of an older man, a mentor called Darrien in the show.

Donny also has a relationship with a trans woman but she’s drained by the stress and trauma he’s enduring.