Netflix viewers might be starting to move on from it, with other titles like Bridgerton racing ahead in the streaming charts, but the conversation surrounding Baby Reindeer is refusing to dwindle down.
Not with real-life Martha Fiona Harvey kicking off her plans to sue Netflix for defamation, after denying that various incidents in the series — billed as a true story — ever happened (even if she does admit many more really did).
To date, Richard Gadd has yet to directly respond to Harvey firing shots at the show, but now a Battle of the Marthas is launching thanks to actress Jessica Gunning giving her take on one of Baby Reindeer‘s biggest debates.
Jessica Gunning defends Richard Gadd amid Baby Reindeer backlash
In an interview with RadioTimes.com, Gunning — who plays Martha Scott in the Netflix smash — opened up about all the drama surrounding the show, admitting that she tries to avoid getting sucked into the whirlpool over whether Baby Reindeer is fiction or fact due to her loyalty to Gadd as a colleague and friend.
“Me and Richard have this close connection and I’m very concerned about anything that might upset him,” Gunning explained. “He’s a survivor of sexual assault, and he was stalked, and I think that any search for real people almost undermines that slightly.”
Although she didn’t mention Fiona Harvey by name, Gunning also came clean about her feelings on playing Martha, who we now know was closely modeled on Harvey. When asked if she felt it was “problematic” to play a character based on a real person, Gunning said that she was “sensitive” to it but stressed that she was portraying a “character” and wasn’t “doing an impersonation” of anyone:
“I wouldn’t use the word problematic, I would say, maybe, sensitive,” Gunning said. “I absolutely saw Martha as a character, I wasn’t doing an impersonation of a real person. She was very clear to me in the script, but I genuinely didn’t know anything about the real person. But Richard is playing a character as well. When I was acting with him, I felt like he was a character. I didn’t feel like we were re-enacting scenes for some documentary, it felt like we were doing interpretations of these characters in this emotionally true world.”
Gadd himself has come under a lot of fire for various reasons, including being labelled a “psychopath” by Harvey and being accused of gaslighting by a former partner, trans actress Reece Lyons. Gunning, however, was keen to heap praise on Gadd for his bravery in sharing such a personal story.
 “I think he was incredibly brave to bare all,” she stated. “He really did put everything in that show, warts and all, errors, mistakes that were made. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything quite like it. I’m always fiercely protective of him and I want to make sure that none of this is upsetting for him, really, so I try and keep out of any of that stuff.”
As an actor rather than a producer or creator on the show, Jessica Gunning should avoid getting caught up in Harvey’s lawsuit against Gadd and Netflix, so hopefully she’ll be able to enjoy the success that Baby Reindeer deserves to bring her without any of the blowback.
