Baby Reindeer fans are convinced they’ve tracked down ‘real pub’ star Richard Gadd met stalker ‘Martha’ in London
BABY Reindeer fans are convinced they’ve tracked down the pub Richard Gadd worked in when he first met his stalker.
Richard recreates the story of his stalking hell at the hands of a woman known as ‘Martha’ in the Netflix smash-hit, deliberately changing the names and locations involved.
This included himself, rebranding to wannabe comedian and part-time barman Donny Dunn for the sake of the series.
But despite his pleas to the contrary, fans have quickly turned into armchair detectives to suss out the real-life inspirations for the wild story.
According to most, the pub Richard worked in at the time of the stalking (which is stated to be around 10 years ago) was none other than the iconic Hawley Arms in Camden.
The Hawley Arms has become one of the most notable pubs in the area, thanks to its clientele of famous creative faces who would head there on their downtime.
Among the patrons is Noel Fielding, Liam Gallagher, Kate Moss and Yungblud.
Amy Winehouse was also a regular during her heyday, being spotted there around the same time Back To Black was made in 2006.
Jonny Borrell of Razorlight was also snapped taking then-girlfriend Kristen Dunst there for a pint when she was in town to promote Spider-Man 3 in 2007.
The pub had so many famous people through its doors, it even has a Wall Of Fame, and became central to a celebrity fundraising effort when a fire destroyed Camden’s famous market and the Hawley Arms building in 2008.
The pub still runs today, and continues to be a stop of point for indie fans and musicians alike.
In the show, the local pub is mostly empty save a few regulars, and called The Heart – not to be perceived as The Black Heart, a live music venue in Camden just down the road from the Hawley.
Donny is seen dutifully serving drinks in the bar, causing his life to change forever when he meets down-on-her-luck ‘Martha’ and offers her a cup of tea on the house.
Martha is seen making bold claims to Donny about her life, including declaring she was a lawyer and advisor to the government, despite not being able to afford a drink.
She becomes besotted and later obsessed with Donny, sending him hundreds of e-mails after tracking his address down on his comedy website.
The fellow staff members are seen on the show treating her attention as a running gag, even going so far as encouraging her as a joke around the pub.
However, as she starts coming in every day, Donny does what he can to get her barred, with little to no success until she turns violent.
Richard has never confirmed the real identity of Martha or anyone else in the show, including his ex-love interest and a man in the TV industry who allegedly abused him.
Instead Richard has urged fans away from speculation, saying in a statement on social media: “People I love, have worked with, and admire… are unfairly getting caught up in speculation.
“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.”
Despite this, fans have come to believe her name is Fiona Harvey.
Fiona, a law graduate from Scotland, has since spoken out online discrediting both Richard and Baby Reindeer, denying all involvement and taking vicious swipes at the show creator, as well as actress Jessica Gunning who portrays Martha on the series.
Among her claims, Fiona states she met Richard while he worked at the Hawley Arms, but says he hit on her even though she wasn’t interested.
She also claims that as a result of the series she has received death threats and plans to sue Netflix.
The Hawley Arms has also never confirmed Richard was ever a member of staff there.
