Baby Reindeer star Jessica Gunning has told how a terrified woman screamed at her in the street because she thought she was following her.
The actress, who plays an obsessed stalker called Martha in the hit Netflix show, bumped into the woman outside her home just minutes after she had watched the last episode of the programme.
Jessica, 38, reckons this was the moment when she realised just how huge the show had become. “I came out of my house the other week and a lady was just there on the street and went, ‘Ahhh!’, she says. “But it’s because she’d just finished episode seven, walked out of her door and then I was there. “So I understand why maybe that may have been a bit freaky.”
In the drama, Jessica’s character Martha spends whole days in the street outside her victim’s home. And the actress admits she looks similar to the 58-year-old Scottish woman who claims she is the real life inspiration for the character and is now suing Netflix for defamation.
Jessica Gunning stars as stalker Martha, inspired by real life events (Netflix)Series creator and Scottish comic Richard Gadd – who also stars as victim Donny – based it on his experience of being stalked by a woman he met at the pub where he worked.
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Donny is also shown being sexually assaulted by a male TV writer who promises to help him carve out a career in comedy – a storyline he says is also rooted in real events.
Jessica says she is proud of Richard for inspiring other victims of sexual assault to seek help. She says: “The impact has been incredible. He works with a charity called We Are Survivors and they’ve had something like a 200% increase in emails since the show’s been out.
“About 55% of those people said that Baby Reindeer was the reason why they reached out. That’s really special and important. “I think he was really honest and brave in how he told the story. He’s having people talk to him all the time about how they’ve opened up to family members for the first time.
Jessica Gunning and Richard Gadd became close when filming Baby Reindeer (Getty Images for Netflix)“People are out there feeling lonely, and like it’s only ever happened to them, and then then they someone else who has gone through something similar.”
The actress added: “I think I know Richard in a way that I’ve not really known anyone before. “ We’ve kind of gone through a bit of a crazy time together so we’ve got a special bond. I really care about him.
“I’m so, so proud of him… the effect that especially episode four [where Richard depicts being raped by the writer] has had on people watching. “But I was also so – not to sound too w***y – proud of him because I know him really well now.
“We filmed Baby Reindeer nearly two years ago so just seeing everything that he did, how amazing and brave he was, I found that really emotional. “I think all the crew and Weronika (Tofilska), who was directing that episode… everyone was really mindful that that would be a tough one to film and watch.”
Of the show’s global success, Jessica, who also stars in Stephen Merchant’s BBC hit The Outlaws, admits: “I don’t think any of us really expected it.
“I watched it on my own before it came out just to do a bit of prep for interviews, and I definitely thought then, ‘This is going to be good, people are going to watch this’. I thought it might be a bit like an indie slowburner but then everyone was talking about it, which was amazing. It’s been a whirlwind.
“I think Richard’s script is just incredible."
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