Richard Gadd turning his real-life trauma into art for the seven-part series Baby Reindeer has wowed viewers across the globe, with the comedy-drama topping Netflix charts in multiple countries.
But amid the acclaim and critical plaudits for Gadd's TV series, fierce debates have erupted regarding the ethics of basing a show on real-life people - with former Pointless presenter Richard Osman even wading into the cultural discussion.
Osman, who recently signed a movie deal with Netflix himself, discussed the Baby Reindeer fallout with Marina Hyde earlier this week and suggested Netflix could have done more to conceal people's identities.
Speaking on The Rest is Entertainment podcast, Osman claimed "you don't have to be Coleen Rooney" to identify the Scottish woman who stalked Baby Reindeer creator and star Gadd, with journalist Marina Hyde taking aim at Netflix and the streaming platform's well-paid chief executive.
Both stars expressed sympathy with Baby Reindeer creator and star Gadd during their podcast chat, and admitted he should be able to tell his story via his art, but Hyde expressed her belief Netflix didn't do enough to protect people's identities - claiming "this wouldn't have happened at the BBC or ITV."
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The woman widely speculated to be the real Martha from Richard Gadd's acclaimed series has spoken out since the show premiered on Netflix earlier this month and admitted she is considering taking legal action against the streaming giant. Cyber detectives claimed to have found Martha's real-life counterpart, despite pleas from star and creator Gadd for audiences to refrain from such speculation.
The Mirror has chosen not to name or picture the woman who has revealed herself as being the 'real' Martha.
Baby Reindeer, the gripping drama that's taken Netflix by storm, is a harrowing tale based on writer-comedian Richard Gadd's personal experiences with stalking and sexual abuse. Starring Gadd himself as Donny, an emerging comedian, the series has not only dominated global Netflix charts but also inadvertently triggered a police investigation after viewers mistakenly identified an entertainment industry worker as Gadd's abuser.
During their podcast discussion, Hyde and Osman delved into the complexities of transforming real-life trauma into compelling television. Hyde drew parallels between Baby Reindeer and other BBC hits like I May Destroy You and Fleabag, noting Michaela Coel's poignant narrative of her own sexual assault managed to conceal people's identifies.
"I May Destroy You, which was Michaela Coel's story of her own sexual assault and the attempt to sort of unravel that and sort of exploration of the idea of consent and all sorts of things like that," Hyde remarked in this week's edition of The Rest Is Entertainment. Hyde then touches on the concept of compliance in TV production, suggesting that the controversy surrounding Baby Reindeer could have been avoided with stricter oversight.
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(Getty Images)"Anyway, now both of those were on the BBC and In the Case of I May Destroy You was a co-production with HBO, but there's something called compliance in television," Hyde said, adding: "And I mean, all the writers and all the producers and all the executives I spoke to this week were like, this thing that's happened with Baby Reindeer, right, should not have happened. I don't know what Netflix have, you know, maybe if they had a proper compliance department, they wouldn't be able to pay their chief executive $50 million a year, but who knows."
Following Hyde's dig at Netflix's head honcho, both she and Osman discussed how simple it is to identify the real-life woman who stalked Gadd - "It didn't take any actual sleuthing" - and highlighted that the BBC employs a part-time commissioning executive "who deals with these types of issues and would have advised" on matters concerning vulnerable contributors and "people on whom it's based".
Hyde continued to point out that with I May Destroy You, the producers from BBC and HBO ensured "the defining characteristics of the lead characters were really different" to prevent viewers from playing detective, unlike Netflix - which she refers to as "a bit of a Wild West."
Osman then disclosed that the identity of Gadd's male sexual abuser is known within certain circles, due to Gadd's previous performance of Baby Reindeer in Edinburgh and his openness with industry insiders. "That person has never been prosecuted, has never gone to trial, but everyone knows who it is," Osman declared.
"Now it comes out [on Netflix] and a completely different person is identified, someone who has worked with Richard Gadd before, but is definitely not the person in any way." The Pointless star further noted that the casting team for Baby Reindeer chose an actor to portray the role of abuser Darrien who bears a resemblance to the man falsely accused, before pondering whether Netflix was unaware that Baby Reindeer would become such a massive hit.
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Hyde countered: "Yeah, but they should have predicted it. Terrestrial public service television would have had to predict it. Somebody's head would be on the chopping block if they hadn't, because I have huge sympathy with both, at much lesser extent with Netflix, who I don't necessarily have huge sympathy with, but with Richard Gadd, because are we saying now in this era of social media that people can't tell their stories of what happened?"
Citing Gadd's previous statements that he and Netflix had taken extreme measures to shield the real-life Martha's identity, even to the extent of her being unrecognizable in Gunning's portrayal, Hyde asserted: "that isn't the case" at all. She firmly reiterated her belief that it "is the job" of streaming giants and TV companies like Netflix to grasp the nature of the world we live in and expressed astonishment at how "extraordinary it's got to this point".
Hyde further emphasized that Gadd should "of course be able to tell his story" but things should have been "better disguised" - quipping: "I don't think this would have happened at the BBC or ITV." Osman reflected on the unique position Baby Reindeer's creator Gadd finds himself in, with critical acclaim and controversy arriving hand-in-hand.
"I think this will be the sort of patient zero of Netflix compliance," Osman remarked, foreseeing stricter controls on upcoming productions. Hyde chimed in, questioning the effectiveness of Netflix's current oversight: "Maybe they've got a big department and I don't wish to speculate, but they're not doing a very good job." The Mirror has previously reached out to Netflix for a statement regarding Hyde and Osman's comments.
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