What happened to Richard Gaad? The true story behind Donny the ‘Baby Reindeer’, his stalker, and abuser
NETFLIX’S powerful series Baby Reindeer has gripped fans with his nightmare storyline of a man being stalked.
The miniseries is actually based on the real life experiences of comedian Richard Gaad, who found himself as the victim of one woman’s obsession.
Who is Richard Gaad?
Born on May 11, 1989, Richard Gaad is a Scottish stand-up comedian, writer and actor.
Baby Reindeer‘s harrowing plot is based on his own experiences of stalking.
At first he turned his traumatic story into a critically acclaimed play, before Netflix made it into a series of the same name
In the series he plays a fictional version of himself called Donny, who is stalked by a woman called Martha.
The show has already been dubbed “a true masterpiece” by viewers.
Before Baby Reindeer’s success Richard had some small roles in shows like Tripped and Peacock’s Code 404.
Richard is also known for writing hit show Sex Education
What happened to Richard Gaad?
In 2019, Richard was relentlessly stalked by a woman who he offered a cup of tea to
Following this first encounter she went on to send him 41,071 emails, 350 hours of voicemails, 744 tweets, 46 Facebook messages, and more than a 100 pages of letters.
She also turned up at his place of work and his home, as well as following him.
The woman would send him gifts which included a woolly hat, brand new boxer shorts, and a reindeer toy.
Her nickname for him was “Baby Reindeer”.
Speaking to The Times Richard said: “When a man gets stalked, it can be portrayed in films and television as a sexy thing. Like a femme fatale who gradually becomes more sinister.”
He continued: “It doesn’t carry as much threat of physical violence, is less common and can be trivialised.
“I was physically scared because I didn’t know how far she could take it. “
Abuse survivors can feel just as much shame about the idea of feeling duped or the idea of feeling manipulated.
Richard Gaad
As well as depicting his stalking nightmare, Netflix’s Baby Reindeer also sees the character Donny be the victim of sexual abuse, something Richard also suffered in real life.
Speaking to the Radio Times, he said: “On a fundamental level, you see sexual abuse in television – not all the time – but a lot of the time as an anonymous figure in the night.
“But a lot of abuse happens in power dynamics, work dynamics, relationship dynamics, all those kinds of things.
“I hadn’t really seen the psychological complexity of it too often on television and I really wanted to show the perniciousness of the grooming cycle, just as much as the abuse cycle.
“Abuse survivors can feel just as much shame about the idea of feeling duped or the idea of feeling manipulated.
“One of the feelings that was left with me after everything was, ‘God, I just feel so stupid’.
“I think being so honest, not just about the assault but how it got to that point, I hope will provide comfort for people who are maybe going through the same thing.”
Who is the real life Martha from Baby Reindeer?
The identity of Richard’s stalker is not known, as Richard has never disclosed her name.
Baby Reindeer offers a partly fictionalised version of her, and has called her Martha.
Speaking to GQ he said: “We’ve gone to such great lengths to disguise her to the point that I don’t think she would recognise herself.
“What’s been borrowed is an emotional truth, not a fact-by-fact profile of someone.”
You can watch Baby Reindeer right now on Netflix.
What to do if you suspect you're being stalked
Tony Neate, CEO of Get Safe Online, tells Sun Online: “The perpetrators commonly obtain details about you via online information of personal and financial affairs, social and work life, relationships and your location.
As a starting point, ensure only the minimum information about you is available online and take stalking seriously.
Report it before it has serious effects on you and others and keep a record of all that takes place so you collate evidence whilst it is happening.
For expert advice visit Get Safe Online.”