Netflix 'took 'every precaution' to protect real life Baby Reindeer
- Netflix policy chief Benjamin King spoke to MPs today
- READ MORE: The real-life ‘Martha’ says SHE has been bombarded with calls
A Netflix executive has claimed producers took every precaution to protect the real life people who inspired the characters of Baby Reindeer after viewers managed to identify Richard Gadd’s stalker.
Speaking in parliament, policy chief Benjamin King said that Netflix and Clerkenwell Films – who made the hit show – took ‘every reasonable precaution in disguising the real-life identities of the people involved in that story.’
Mr Gadd, who plays the lead in the series, and has said it is based on his own experiences of being stalked and sexually abused by a high profile comedy agent has urged fans not to look for the characters’ real-life counterparts.
However, since the show aired, fans have gone crazy over potential theories on who each of the characters could be in reality.
Mr Gadd has been forced to ask people to stop trying to figure it out, as it leading to false accusation against his friends.
Mr Gadd (pictured), who plays the lead in the series, and has said it is based on his own experiences of being stalked and sexually abused by a high profile comedy agent has urged fans not to look for the characters’ real-life counterparts
He wrote on his Instagram page about how ‘people I love, have worked with, and admire’ were being targeted unfairly.
He added: ‘Please don’t speculate on who any of the real life people could be. That’s not the point of the show.’
SNP MP John Nicolson, who sits on the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, added that efforts hadn’t stopped fans finding the real life Martha onlin.
But Mr King said Netflix needed to balance protecting identities with upholding the ‘veracity and authenticity’ of the show.
‘We didn’t want to anonymise that or make it generic to the point where it was no longer his story because that would undermine the intent behind the show,’ the senior public policy director said.
‘Ultimately, it’s obviously very difficult to control what viewers do, particularly in a world where everything is amplified by social media.
‘I personally wouldn’t be comfortable with a world in which we decided it was better that Richard was silenced and not allowed to tell the story.’
Mr Nicolson also asked if Netflix had given any support to the woman identified online as Richard’s stalker – who is set to do a TV interview this week.
Mr Nicolson also asked if Netflix had given any support to the woman identified online as Richard’s stalker – who is set to do a TV interview this week. Pictured,Jessica Gunning as Martha in the show
‘I cannot get into the specifics of what happened around the making of the show because it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to comment. I don’t want to give further fuel to some of the theories which are circling on the internet,’ Mr King said.
He added that Netflix worked closely with the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, a support charity for stalking victims, and the show had raised awareness for male victims.
Baby Reindeer delves into Richard’s harrowing real-life stalking ordeal and brutal sexual abuse as he plays a fictionalised version of himself called Donny Dunn.
Donny is flooded with 41,071 emails, 744 tweets, 350 voicemails and 106 pages of letters from stalker Martha, played by Jess Gunning. The series also details Donny’s horrifying rape at the hands of his comedy mentor Darrien played by Tom Goodman-Hill.
Darrien coaxes Donny to come to his flat and get high on drugs, by promising him that TV producers are interested in his work.
However while on drugs he sexually assaults Donny multiple times.
Mr Gadd has opened up about what it was like to re-enact his trauma for the small screen – and how he hopes it will aid his healing process.
On reliving his ‘severe’ twenties, Mr Gadd told Attitude: ‘It’s hugely challenging, but I hope for catharsis when the show comes out.’
Baby Reindeer, the extraordinary hit Netflix drama which has taken the television world by storm, has been viewed more than 60 million times in the past month
The chilling real-life drama was inspired by the ordeal suffered by Scottish creator and leading man Richard Gadd at the hands of ‘Martha’ (played by Jessica Gunning, right)
It comes as the real-life ‘Martha’ claims she has been bombarded with calls since the show became a global sensation.
The woman has claimed that since the release of the show, she has been inundated with calls from ‘foul-mouthed’ publicists or agents trying to book her.
The Scot is set to break her silence in her first ever TV interview with journalist Piers Morgan tonight.
But before the tête-à-tête with celebrity interviewer has even aired, the woman has already gone on the offensive, saying she is ‘not happy’ and felt she was being ‘set up’.
Describing the 30-minute grilling as a ‘sparring match’, the alleged female stalker has accused Morgan of trying to ‘trip her up’ with his questions.
‘Piers kept saying to me “are you sure you haven’t sent this guy 41,000 emails and phone calls?”. A lot of the interview, for a good 10 minutes, he kept coming back to this,’ she told the Daily Record.
‘I said, “Look, even if I had sent some emails, it doesn’t mean I’m guilty of the rest of the stuff”. As I said, in order to bill something as a “true story”, it’s got to be pretty much 100 per cent true.’
She added: ‘It seemed to me that I was set up. I feel a bit used.’
The Piers Morgan Uncensored special will air on the broadcaster’s YouTube channel, which has 2.58million subscribers, at 8pm.
The woman will be looking to ‘set the record straight’ as she breaks her silence following Baby Reindeer’s global success, the preview said.
Before her big interview, she paid a visit to celebrity hairdresser John Hala – who has styled the barnets of A-listers Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sigourney Weaver, Elle MacPherson and Kate Moss – at his salon in London’s Canary Wharf.
Speaking to the Daily Record, she claimed she was paid £250 for the interview and had turned down request from the likes of This Morning to talk about Baby Reindeer.
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