How Baby Reindeer's Fife-born creator went from struggling comic to Emmy nominee

It is the must-watch, psychologically thought-provoking TV hit of the year, which has brought Netflix drama into real life with an ongoing legal saga between the streamer and a woman who claims herself to be the real-life character on which the show is based.

Now Baby Reindeer, the traumatic piece of television created by and based on the life of Fife comedian Richard Gadd, has picked up 11 Emmy nominations.

The seven-part series follows the character Donny Dunn, played by writer Mr Gadd, as he is stalked by a woman called Martha Scott, who sends tens of thousands of emails and voice-mails after he offered her a cup of tea in the pub where he worked.

Richard Gadd and Jessica Gunning attend SAG-AFTRA Foundation Conversations "Baby Reindeer" in New York.

Mr Gadd, who has said the series is inspired by his real-life experiences, received nominations in the outstanding lead actor in a limited or anthology series category for his role playing Donny, and in the outstanding writing category.

While the show was released to critical acclaim, propelling it to one of the most watched on Netflix almost immediately, its fame continued well after the initial viewers finished binge watching.

Following the series’ release, a woman called Fiona Harvey came forward claiming to be the person who inspired the character Martha, and subsequently filed a lawsuit accusing Netflix of defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, gross negligence, and violations of her right of publicity.

The show has divided and disturbed viewers, with fears raised for the mental health of not only the woman behind the Martha Scott character, but of Mr Gadd himself.

Jessica Gunning and Richard Gadd starred in Baby Reindeer, inspired by events in Mr Gadd's personal life.

Further speculation raged over the real-life identity of character Darrien, who sexually abused and raped Mr Gadd in one particularly harrowing scene.

Born in Wormit, Mr Gadd brought his first three stand-up comedy shows – Waiting for Gaddot, Breaking Gadd and Cheese & Crack Whores – to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe to critical acclaim. All of them transferred to runs at London’s Soho Theatre and won several awards.

His fourth show, Monkey See Monkey Do, which was about a sexual assault he suffered, won the Edinburgh Comedy Award in 2016. The show was one of the best reviewed of the entire festival, latterly touring UK, Europe and Australia. Queues formed outside the venue as people clamoured to get tickets to the sold-out show.

Baby Reindeer also began life at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2019 as a one-man performance.

However, Mr Gadd’s career was not always so successful. Footage available online shows a young Mr Gadd’s early stand-up routines mirrored those of his character Donny, with jokes told to a small audience often falling flat.

Tom Goodman-Hill, who plays Donny’s rapist Darrien, has been nominated for best supporting actor in a limited series.

Baby Reindeer is also nominated for outstanding limited or anthology series, as well as awards relating to directing, picture editing and music, among others.

Leading the nominations this year was hit FX show The Bear with 23 nods and historical drama series Shogun with 25. The 76th Emmy awards ceremony will take place on September 15 at the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles.