Creator of Netflix series Baby Reindeer Richard Gadd says he had 'every kind of therapy' to get over his own real-life stalker - who sent him 40,000 emails and 350 hours of voicemail - and says the show has let him 'own' trauma

The stand-up comedian behind chilling new Netflix series Baby Reindeer, which is based on his own experiences of being stalked, says he still finds it hard to trust people and has had 'every therapy going'. 

Richard Gadd, whose seven-part Netflix series is based on his stand-up show of the same name about being stalked, was targeted by the woman for six years, until police finally intervened. 

The actor and comedian was subjected to a campaign of obsession by the woman, known as Martha, that manifested in 41,071 emails, 744 tweets, 106 pages of letters and a staggering 350 hours of voicemail.

The 34-year-old from Fife, Scotland, won a Fringe award in 2019 for Baby Reindeer, the pet name his stalker, known as  'Martha', gave him - and says performing a version of what happened to him has enabled him to have 'ownership' of the trauma. 

A scene from Baby Reindeer, released on Netflix this week; the psychological thriller follows struggling comedian Donny Dunn, played by the show's writer Richard Gadd, and his delicate relationship with a crazed fan named Martha (Jessica Gunning)

In real-life, Gadd, left, 34, was stalked for six years by a female stalker, who drove a 'freight train' through his life, he says. Right: His award-winning stand-up show, based on some of his own experiences of stalking, is now a Netflix series

The psychological thriller released this week follows struggling comedian Donny Dunn, played by Gadd, and his delicate relationship with crazed fan Martha (Jessica Gunning). 

It documents the terrifying lengths a crazed fan will go to in order to get closer to her obsession - and includes her turning up at his gigs, workplace and bombarding him with messages.  

This week, Gadd told The Times that his own years of being stalked has left him with something 'like PTSD'. For the Netflix role, he lost weight to match his 10-and-a-half stone 'neurotic' self at the height of his own stalking nightmare. 

Gadd says he's currently single and 'is more cautious' of people because of the campaign of terror that Martha inflicted, saying:  'It takes me a long time to trust them. Before, I entered situations with such abandonment and I got burnt.' 

He says it was 'years' before the police eventually took his complaints seriously, something which prolonged the agony for everyone involved including his relatives. 

The police told him at the time that unless his stalker became physically violent, there was little they could do to resolve the issue.

Gadd plays the comedian being stalked; in real life, his own stalker sent him 41,071 emails, 744 tweets, 106 pages of letters and a staggering 350 hours of voicemail over a six year period

Martha in Baby Reindeer follows her obsession to his gigs, workplace and sends thousands of messages - he says performing a version of his own stalking experiences has proved cathartic

The seven-part series sees Martha largely using technology to stalk and constrain her victim 

Gadd first met his stalker after he offered 'a crying stranger a cup of tea' when she came into the bar where he worked. 

The simple gesture sparked a stalking episode that saw him regularly followed at home and work, and tracked on Facebook using three fake accounts. 

He told The Times: 'At first everyone at the pub thought it was funny that I had an admirer. Then she started to invade my life, following me, turning up at my gigs, waiting outside my house, sending thousands of voicemails and emails.' 

The actor and comedian, pictured in 2019, says the police refused to take his claims that he was being stalked despite 'Martha' frequently appearing at his home

Speaking to the Telegraph in 2019 about the one-man show that he wrote after the trauma, which is currently on at London's Bush theatre, he said: 'It was debilitating beyond belief. 

'I'd listen to her voicemails and just feel my eyes welling up. They were tears of frustration. Proper brain-heavy stress.' 

Gadd says that the woman drove a 'freight train' through his ability to have normal life and relationships but that he portrays her in the show as not evil but severely affected by mental health problems. 

The Netflix series sees Martha given a prison sentence for her offences but Gadd hasn't divulged the fate of his own stalker, except to say the issue has been resolved and he never wanted to 'throw someone who was that level of mentally unwell in prison.' 

Baby Reindeer is out now on Netflix