BABY Reindeer actress Jessica Gunning has explained why she didn’t meet the woman who inspired her character Martha in the Netflix smash hit.
The woman accused of stalking in real life has slammed the series, and insisted “I’m the real victim”.
Speaking in a new interview with Stylist magazine actress Jessica, 38, revealed why ex-lawyer Fiona Harvey, the muse for Martha, wasn’t consulted in the creative process.
She said: “It’s a story about two lost people who have gone through a lot in their lives.
“They’re lonely and they’ve both known trauma and they both find each other at an important time in their lives.
“And those two characters are what I responded to. I never felt the need to do an impersonation, this is my interpretation of the character.
“I did some research before we started on stalking and charities that work with people who have been stalked.
“I’ve looked into things like limerence, which is being almost obsessed with people.
“But then as soon as we started filming, all that had been shelved in a way because this is such a unique story.
“For me, that final voicemail that she leaves for him [where Martha explains why she why she gave him the nickname Baby Reindeer] captures the core of her really, and that’s the thing I always went back to.”
Writer Richard Gadd, who plays Donny, has also been criticised for failing to keep Fiona’s identity a secret.
The Sun revealed Fiona is also threatening to sue Netflix.
Richard first told his story on stage at Edinburgh Fringe in 2015, before weaving it into a screen play.
Jessica admitted: “I never got to see the stage show of Baby Reindeer because it was fully sold out.
“But when I read the script, especially the final scene I got goosebumps. I knew it had the potential to be something special.”
In the series barman Donny (played by writer Richard) gets into a brawl with lonely Martha after she smashes a bottle over his head while he’s pulling a pint.
Martha is eventually barred, but only following months of daily visits to the pub, and sending thousands of emails to harass Donny.
Then a struggling comedian, Donny first crosses paths with Martha, who is also revealed to be an ex lawyer like Fiona, when she walks in tearful and saying she can’t afford to pay for a drink.
The sympathetic bartender offers her a cup of tea on the house – sealing her obsession with him and his fate.
In real life Richard worked at the famous Hawley Arms in Camden.
Renamed ‘The Heart’ in the show, the creepy scenes were actually filmed in Edinburgh.
Baby Reindeer by numbers
The Netflix series has become quite the breakout smash hit...
- 7 Number of episodes in the series
- 30 Number of countries the series has topped the Netflix chart in
- 64 Percentage increase in viewers the show earned in its second week, compared to its first
- 97 The show’s percentage score on industry bible Rotten Tomatoes
- 41,071 Amount of emails Richard claims he was sent by the real life Martha
- 13.3 million Number of viewers who tuned into the show during its first week