The identity of the man who sexually abused comedian Richard Gadd, which he dramatized in his semi-autobiographical television series “Baby Reindeer,” is known by “people in the industry,” according to a British presenter.
In the limited series, adapted from Gadd’s one-person stage show of the same name, the Scottish comedian plays Donny Dunn, a fictionalized version of himself.
The show, which draws on Gadd’s real-life experiences, explores the devastating effects of two traumatic chapters in his life: being stalked by an older woman named Martha and raped by an established male television writer Gadd called Darrien.
While the social media sleuths have named Gadd’s alleged stalker since the release of the series, the identity of the industry professional who subjected Gadd to sexual assault has not.
But speaking on “The Rest is Entertainment” podcast, which he cohosts with journalist Marina Hyde, television personality Richard Osman claimed that the identity of Gadd’s abuser is an open secret among those working in British comedy.
Osman said that Gadd had spoken openly about the individual who sexually assaulted him.
Osman said: “There’s a very, very serious thing that happens with a male comedy producer and Richard Gadd, who did the show in Edinburgh and has been very open to people in the industry about who that person was.”
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He continued: “Obviously, that person hasn’t been prosecuted, has never gone to trial, but everyone knows who he is talking about.”
Osman then began discussing the legal and moral debate around internet sleuths who have taken it upon themselves to hunt down the real-life counterparts of Martha and Darrien.
“A completely different person is identified, someone who has produced Richard Gadd before but is definitively not the person in any way,” Osman continued, referring to the fact that a Tony-nominated writer and director Sean Foley was wrongly accused of being the inspiration for the character.
“But the person they’ve cast in that role looks like this other guy, looks like the guy who’s been falsely accused,” Osman stated. “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.'”
Osman then repeated, “People in the industry know who it is.”
“Honestly, I think they had no idea it was going to become such a huge phenomenon,” he added.
Last week, Gadd shared a message on social media urging fans to stop playing detective and trying to work out the identities of any of the people the show’s characters are based on, stating: “People I love, have worked with, and admire (including Sean Foley) are unfairly getting caught up in speculation.”
Foley, who worked with Gadd on the TV series “Urban Myths,” followed Gadd’s message by posting on X that police were “investigating all defamatory abusive and threatening posts against me.”
Local police confirmed to The Guardian that an investigation had been opened.