Richard Osman has revealed "everyone knows" the identity of Baby Reindeer creator Richard Gadd's real-life abuser.
The former Pointless presenter, 53, says Gadd has been "very open to people in the industry" regarding who sexually assaulted him and "everyone knows who he [Gadd] is talking about" in both his stage and Netflix productions of Baby Reindeer, a show that focuses on Gadd's personal experiences with stalking and rape.
In the fourth episode of the seven-part Netflix series, released earlier this month, viewers are given a graphic portrayal of Gadd's character, Donny, being sexually abused by a fictional male TV writer named Darrien. This led to rampant speculation among viewers trying to pinpoint the real person behind the character.
Following this, a man who was incorrectly accused of being the real-life Darrien by viewers last week reported receiving menacing messages on social media, leading to police involvement. A British police spokesperson confirmed: "We're investigating after a man reported receiving threatening messages on social media. Enquiries are at an early stage and we are in the process of gathering information from the victim."
Speaking on the latest episode of The Rest Is Entertainment podcast, journalist Marina Hyde and celebrity author Richard Osman discussed the problems that come with turning real life trauma into art - with Hyde accusing Netflix's compliance team of not doing enough to ensure real-life people wouldn't be identified following Baby Reindeer landing on the streaming platform.
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"Well, that's the interesting thing," Osman then tells his co-host. "As you say, there's a very, very serious thing that happens with a male comedy producer and Richard Gadd, who, as you say, did the show in Edinburgh and has been very open to people in the industry about who that person was, so people in the industry know who that person was."
'They actor they cast in that role looks like the guy who's been falsely accused (Netflix)Osman, who recently signed a deal with Netflix to turn one of his books into a film, continues: Well, that's the difficulty, you see, the complexity of him having put the material out there before in another format. And obviously that person hasn't been prosecuted, has never gone to trial, but everyone knows who he is talking about.
"Now it comes out now and a completely different person is identified, someone who has produced Richard Gadd before, but is definitively not the person in any way. But the person they've cast in that role looks like this other guy, looks like the guy who's been falsely accused. And it's such a weird, bizarre thing to do because this poor guy has had death threats and he's had to issue a statement to say it's not me. And it is not him, but definitely not because people in the industry know who it is. And it definitely not him."
Gadd has repeatedly urged the public to exercise caution and not to speculate about the real-life counterparts to the show's characters. Netflix has remained silent on the issue, raising questions about whether adequate steps were taken to protect the identities of those depicted in the series.
Taking to his Instagram Stories, Gadd recently told his followers: "People I love, have worked with, and admire (including Sean Foley) are unfairly getting caught up in speculation. Please don't speculate on who any of the real life people could be. That's not the point of our show."
Osman says the casting of Darrien was a 'weird, bizarre thing' (Dave Benett/Getty Images for Fitzdares)
Gadd has frequently called on his fans to stop the speculation (Dave Benett/Getty Images for Tara Finney Productions)The Instagram statement was shared by Sean Foley, a director and writer, with his Twitter followers Tuesday morning. In another tweet, Foley went on to announce: "Police have been informed and are investigating all defamatory abusive and threatening posts against me."
Previously, speaking to Variety, Gadd explained that the characters were anonymised for legal reasons and to protect vulnerable individuals, even though the story is based on actual events and messages. He said: "It's all emotionally 100% true, if that makes sense. The truth has been borrowed from instances that happened to me and real people I have met.
"But definitely, you can't portray the exact truth, for both legal and artistic reasons. I mean there are certain protections, you can't just plagiarise somebody else's life and name and put it on television. And naturally, we were very conscious that some characters in it are vulnerable people, so you don't want their lives to be more difficult. Hence you need to alter things to safeguard yourself and others."
*If you've been the victim of sexual assault, you can access help and resources via www.rapecrisis.org.uk or calling the national telephone helpline on 0808 802 9999
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