'It's sad that Baby Reindeer fans are playing detective'

Jessica Gunning urged fans not to try and find the real 'Martha'

This article includes plot details of the Netflix series Baby Reindeer

Baby Reindeer star Jessica Gunning says it is "sad" that some viewers are trying to work out the identities of the show's characters.

It comes as Richard Gadd, the writer and creator, asked fans to stop speculating about the real-life people behind the hit Netflix series.

Baby Reindeer depicts the true story of a stalker, played by Gunning, who harassed the Scottish writer and actor over a number of years.

Gunning, 38, who previously starred in the film Pride and BBC series The Outlaws, said certain fans had “missed the point of the show”.

Some have speculated about the real identity of stalker, Martha, as well as that of a male TV writer who is depicted in the series as raping Gadd's character Donny.

Steps were taken to prevent identification, including by using pseudonyms for the names of the characters.

But some real-life figures have notified police after viewers linked them with the programme.

Gunning, 38, told BBC Scotland’s The Edit that there were no “victims and villains” and that Martha and Gadd had been “drawn together at a lonely point”.

She said: "If you like the show and you are a fan of it, you should stick with the story of Martha and Donny being what connects you, not trying to do any detective work and find out any real identities.

"I think it is quite sad and I would urge them to watch the show again and see that that was not the point of the show at all."

Gunning said Netflix went to "great lengths" to protect the identity of the people involved.

She added: "Richard has done an amazing job of not making the story so black and white, so there’s no goody or baddy or villain or victim, really.

"They are just complicated people like humans are."

Writer Richard Gadd said people were being 'unfairly drawn into speculation'

Gadd, 34, previously issued a warning to fans in a message on social media.

He said viewer investigations were leading people he “loved, have worked with and admired getting unfairly caught up in speculation”.

In a post on Instagram, he added: “Please don't speculate on who any of the real-life people could be. That's not the point of our show. Lots of love, Richard."

'Unconventional love story'

Gunning plays Martha, who claims to be a high-flying lawyer, with a strong Scottish accent, though the actor actually grew up near Huddersfield in West Yorkshire.

She described the part as the "role of a lifetime" and recalled "instantly connecting" with Martha.

She also empathised with the character, reading her feelings as an "unconventional love story".

"I never thought of it as a stalker/victim story," she said.

"From the moment I read the script, I just bonded and connected with her and I think that is down to how well Richard wrote her and Donny’s characters.

"I think she is just fascinating. One minute, she is vulnerable, the next minute she is hilarious, but vulnerable."

Baby Reindeer started life as a one-man stage show, which Gadd performed at the 2019 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

It won an Olivier Award and transferred to London's West End before being adapted for television by the streaming giant.

The events depicted in the show are based on Gadd's own experience of having a stalker in real life nearly a decade ago.