Who is Richard Gadd? Meet the man behind Netflix's chilling Baby Reindeer
As Baby Reindeer continues to grip audiences on Netflix by telling the story of mild-mannered Donny, who finds his life turned upside down after giving a free cup of tea to Martha, a customer at the pub where he works. Over the course of seven episodes, the series follows Donny’s life as he tries to combat an unwanted campaign of harassment and stalking from Martha, who refuses to leave him alone.
Even more chillingly, the show is actually based on the real life experience of Donny’s actor Richard Gadd, who found himself at the centre of a decade long stalking campaign from a woman who had formed an unhealthy and debilitating obsession with him, and managed to permeate every aspect of his life.
So who is Richard Gadd?
Richard Robert Steven Gadd is a Scottish writer, actor and comedian that was born on 11 May 1989 in the village of Wormit, Fife. After developing a love of performing at an early age, he began to hone his skills at the Oxford School of Drama, where he graduated in 2012. Following his graduation, Richard began to work on the Scottish comedy circuit, with performances at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival receiving widespread critical acclaim.
Among his most popular accolades are show Monkey See Monkey Do, which won the Edinburgh Comedy Award back in 2016 for the Best Comedy Show at the Fringe, and that same year he was also nominated for a Total Theatre Award for Innovation. In addition, he also picked up a Chortle Comedian’s Comedy Award before the show was broadcast on Comedy Central around the UK.
His earlier works, Waiting for Gaddot and Breaking Gadd were also well received at the Edinburgh festival, and even later went on to perform three-weeks runs or more at the Soho Theatre in London.
Prior to Netflix picking up Baby Reindeer, the show was successfully performed on stage at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and picked up a number of awards from fans and critics alike, who were captivated by the dark tragedy of his own experience as a victim of stalking.
Despite the terrifying and suffocating experience of being stalked Richard previously admitted he bore no ill will to his stalker, as he candidly revealed he felt she too was a victim.
Speaking to the Independent back in 2019 he said: “I can’t emphasise enough how much of a victim she is in all this. Stalking and harassment is a form of mental illness. It would have been wrong to paint her as a monster, because she’s unwell, and the system’s failed her.”
As well as his comedy and stage career, Richard is also a talented actor who has appeared in the BAFTA-nominated BBC2 single drama Against the Law. He has also worked as a correspondent for Channel 4’s panel show: The Last Leg.
In addition to his professional life, Richard is also an ambassador for We Are Survivors, a UK charity dedicated to helping male survivors of sexual abuse, as he himself is sadly a survivor.
Away from his public persona very little is known about Richard’s private life or if he is currently dating anyone. He did however recently reveal to Attitude that he identifies as bisexual.
He told the publication: “I realised quite early on that I used to say, ‘Oh, you have to be one or the other.’ And I believed it was going to be easier for me if I pick one. I tried to identify both ways in my time, and it never worked for me as much as bisexual, really.”
Baby Reindeer is available to stream now on Netflix
