SINGAPORE – Ask someone what was the last thing he or she watched on Netflix, and there is a good chance it will be Baby Reindeer.

The streamer’s sleeper hit is quickly becoming one of its biggest, with close to 60 million views in its first month on the platform. 

The seven-part drama miniseries, which premiered on April 11, is based on true events experienced by its male lead, creator and writer Richard Gadd. The Scottish comedian-actor plays wannabe stand-up comic Donny, a fictionalised version of himself, who gets stalked aggressively and harassed relentlessly by a mentally troubled woman after an innocuous encounter in a pub.

And while Gadd is no doubt the star of Baby Reindeer, Jessica Gunning anchors it with her unsettling yet humane portrayal of Martha, who is based on Gadd’s real-life stalker.

The 38-year-old English television and theatre actress has been honing her craft for 17 years, previously appearing in minor parts in a slew of BBC and ITV shows (Law & Order: UK, 2009 to 2014; White Heat, 2012), as well as crime comedy series The Outlaws (2021 to present).

But Baby Reindeer is the breakout hit that has made audiences around the world know her name. 

In an interview with the BBC, Gunning – who was aged with make-up for the role – says she never met or researched Gadd’s real-life stalker. And despite Martha’s disturbing, obsessive and persistent stalking of Donny, she never saw the character as a villain.

“I don’t think you can do (that) if you’re playing that kind of part. I always saw her as multifaceted and complicated... I feel Martha is kind of the role of a lifetime. I felt really moved by her, actually.”

However, Gunning’s portrayal has earned one very vocal detractor.

After the show’s success, fans were quick to sleuth online to find out who Martha is based on. Even though Gadd and Gunning have called on fans to not seek out Martha’s true identity, a woman named Fiona Harvey – allegedly the stalker who inspired Martha – has blasted Baby Reindeer and “the fat actress” playing her. 

In an interview with English television personality Piers Morgan, which has garnered more than 10 million views on YouTube since its May 10 release, Ms Harvey accused Gadd and Netflix of lying and defamation, and exploiting her misery.

She also denied stalking Gadd and insisted that she had never gone to prison, and has threatened to sue Netflix. 

While the controversy surrounding the series is still rife, Gunning’s well-received performance is not in question. 

Hollywood trade magazine Variety recently predicted that Baby Reindeer will likely be on the list of nominees at the 2024 Emmy Awards. Nominees will be announced in July and the awards will take place in September. 

In particular, Gunning has been tipped by Variety to win the category of best supporting actress in a limited series. 

She tells Harper’s Bazaar: “If you’d have told me two years ago that we were even talking about things like the Emmys, I really wouldn’t have believed it. I didn’t know that it was going to have that kind of reach, so to even be here discussing it is genuinely an honour.” 

But in the BBC interview, she says she does not think of Baby Reindeer “as a springboard for anything, or a moment”. “I just feel genuinely so proud to be part of it and I’m so proud that so many people are having such a response to it.”

• Baby Reindeer is available on Netflix.