The new Netflix series Baby Reindeer has taken the world by storm, introducing legions of viewers to the gut-wrenching tale of Donny Dunn and his stalker, Martha (played by Jessica Gunning).
While the seven-episode series is terrifying even just as fiction, new shades of horror are painted by the fact that it is based on the true story of writer and creator Richard Gadd, who plays a fictionalized version of himself in the leading role.
As with any film or television show that claims to be based on a true story, internet sleuths have emerged to crack the case around who the real-life version of Martha might be. The quest to uncover her identity is only heightened by the fact that Baby Reindeer includes news articles referencing her former stalking victims as well as emails received by Donny that seem directly pulled from Gadd’s real inbox.
All of it begs that ultimate question, and it’s one that Gadd himself has refused to answer: who is the real-life inspiration for Baby Reindeer’s Martha?
Who is the real Martha from ‘Baby Reindeer?’
Much of the online chatter around Martha’s real identity has pointed to one real-life woman named Fiona Harvey. Internet sleuths uncovered Harvery’s posts on X/Twitter from 2014, in which she mentions Gadd by name multiple times, and claims to have appeared at his stand-up comedy sets — as the character of Martha does on the show.
The case is made more convincing by the fact that many of Harvey’s posts have similar spelling errors as those depicted in Martha’s emails on Baby Reindeer. Additionally, many of Harvey’s social media posts mention visiting a pub in Camden — the same location as on Baby Reindeer — while her Facebook bio claims she is a lawyer, the same profession chosen by Marth on the show.
Perhaps the most damning evidence came from a post on X in 2014, in which Harvey wrote that she needs her “curtains hung badly.” This is a direct reference to early episodes in Baby Reindeer, when Donny makes the same joke and kickstarts Martha’s infatuation with him. Another name put forward by internet sleuths in relation to Martha’s identity is Helen Faure, a stalker who was convicted last year for harassing a civil litigation barrister in the UK.
While Faure’s case feels eerily similar to the one depicted in Baby Reindeer, fans were quick to point out that Faure would have been in prison around the time that the events of the show took place in 2015.
In any case, Gadd himself has refused to name the real-life inspiration for Martha, reiterating the woman’s mental illness and saying the character presents “an emotional truth, not a fact-by-fact profile of someone.” As he went on to say: “We’ve gone to such great lengths to disguise her to the point that I don’t think she would recognize herself.” Gadd went on to reveal that given how events played out in real life, he isn’t concerned that Baby Reindeer will elicit a response from the real-life Martha.
Perhaps more pressing than the real-life counterpart of Martha is that of Darrien (played by Tom Goodman-Hill); however, defamation laws in the UK will prevent him from being publicly named. Either way, it’s clear that Baby Reindeer chatter won’t be dying down anytime soon, and if you thought that show was insane, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.
