Baby Reindeer's Richard Gadd: "I can’t really go into pubs anymore"

Richard Gadd has opened up on how his life is different following the success of his Netflix show Baby Reindeer.

The British dark comedy drama-thriller miniseries was created by Gadd who plays a struggling comedian named Donny who meets a woman named Martha (Jessica Gunning) in a pub he works in and she begins to stalk him.

This warped obsession threatens to wreck both their lives but also leads Donny to confront some of his deeply buried trauma.

While Gadd plays a character in the series, the story is based on the Scottish comedian's 2019 autobiographical play of the same name he performed at the Edinburgh Festival.

Since its release, Baby Reindeer has had over 60 million views globally in one month, according to the streaming giant.

In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Gadd described how his latest outing to the pub is somewhat different from what he's used to, describing it as "bedlam" and "chaos."

"People coming up all the time, all the time, sharing stories and talking about the show and how it affected them. I kind of thought, oh, I can’t really go into pubs anymore and expect to sit there quietly in a corner and have some food," he said.

Even on a flight, Gadd recalled the "surreal" experience of the pilot recognising him from his show.

"On the flight over here to L.A., the captain came back because he had heard I was on the plane. He spoke to me and then the other pilot came back, too, so that was quite surreal. I still don’t think of myself as famous. I don’t believe it inside, so when people come up, I still find it quite strange," Gadd admitted to the publication.

He's also had some celebrities reacting to Baby Reindeer, from Stephen King describing it as "One of the best things I've ever seen," to Cardi B posting about the show.

But one that "meant the most" to Gadd was from actor and professional wrestler John Cena.

"He sent me a private video talking about the show and how much he liked it. I’m a big wrestling fan and a big John Cena fan, so that kind of blew my mind. It meant a lot to me."

But the success of the show has led to internet sleuths trying to track down the real-life people who inspired the characters in the series - despite Gadd issuing a warning online for people not to do this.

It eventually led to the "real-life" Martha to do a sit-down interview with broadcaster Piers Morgan on Piers Morgan Uncensored on May 9th, which has been viewed more than 11m times on YouTube.

During his interview, which took place before Piers Morgan's interview came out, Gadd said on the topic of the real-life identities of the character that his show "exists in a sort of fictional realm, even though it’s based on truth."

"I don’t agree with the sleuth thing. I’ve put out a statement publicly saying I want the show to be received as a piece of art, and I want the show to people to enjoy as a piece of art," he said and noted how he would've made the series a documentary if he wanted the real-life people to be found.

Gadd added: "I don’t think I’ll ever comment on it ever again."

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