4 days ago

Charlotte Gallagher

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Jessica Gunning won a Bafta for her role in Baby Reindeer in May

Baby Reindeer was one of the standout television moments of the past few years and it catapulted actress Jessica Gunning to stardom.

She played the obsessive and troubled woman, Martha, who dramatically unravels onscreen.

For Gunning it was the "role of a lifetime", describing life as a "surreal" but also a "dream" since the show's release.

"I got goose bumps when I first read the script," the British actress tells the BBC, adding she had five auditions for the role.

But she thought the television series might have been an indie hit, not the phenomenon on Netflix it became.

Of course, a potential downside of starring in a show like that does mean you get stopped in the street and occasionally confused with your character.

"I'd just parked near where I live and a woman screamed in my face! But in her defence she had just finished the series, walked out of her home and there I was.

"So that's surreal, occasionally being screamed at," she says.

"But everyone has been so lovely, there's also an incredible statistic about the difference the show has made to charities, especially ones for male survivors of sexual assault.

"I think it shows people want complicated stories. I have had 14-year-olds come and talk to me about it, as well as 90-year-olds."

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She played the troubled character Martha

Anyone who has watched Baby Reindeer may tell you it can be a difficult and upsetting watch.

The show says it was based on real-life events experienced by the show's creator, Richard Gadd, who also plays the lead character.

But this is disputed by the woman who allegedly inspired the person Martha is based on, who has said Netflix told "brutal lies" about her to more than 50 million viewers around the world.

She said in June 2024 she was suing Netflix for defamation, negligence and privacy violations.

The show is billed as "a true story", but a judge concluded in his ruling in September 2024 that certain key events in the series, like the conviction for stalking, did not happen in real life.

Netflix failed in its attempt to persuade the judge to throw out the legal case brought against it, but said: "We intend to defend this matter vigorously and to stand by Richard Gadd's right to tell his story."

'It's all been a bit pinch me'

Filming such an intense drama has given Gadd and Gunning a "unique bond" the actress says.

"We always checked in with each other and the producers and director made sure everything felt safe and considered."

Baby Reindeer started life as a stage show at the Fringe at Edinburgh, Gunning had tried to see but couldn't get tickets so bought the play text instead.

"That was a little bit Martha of me" she laughs.

Her persistence paid off, and Gunning swept up during award season, winning an Emmy, a Bafta, a Golden Globe, an RTS and a Screen Actors Guild award.

"It's all been a bit pinch me, for all of the cast and crew really, we were out in LA, which is just crazy anyway to be in Hollywood. All the clichés are true, even to be nominated is an honour.

"Sometimes I look at the shelf that has my awards on and I think 'Oh my gosh', it feels like a dream really."

Gunning has been in the industry for almost two decades, but Baby Reindeer has been a life-changing experience.

"I feel like on the one hand my life has completely changed, but I also feel exactly the same in a good way."

"I feel like if something like Baby Reindeer happened straight after coming out of drama school, maybe I'd feel like a bit of a deer in the headlights, pardon the pun.

"Now I feel a lot more grounded and I've got a big group of family and friends. But it is kind of strange, the number of viewers that Netflix bring in, you can't really compute. If you think about it too much it can feel a little bit scary."

She is well aware of the significance of the role saying: "I waited 17 years for a part like Martha to come along, so hopefully it won't be another 17 years."

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Jessica Gunning and her Baby Reindeer co-star Richard Gadd

Gunning will next be on-screen on Christmas Eve, in the BBC One and Children In Need animation Pudsey and the Thread of Hope.

It is based on an original story by McFly star and composer for the Paddington muscial Tom Fletcher, who's also written the music for the cartoon.

Gunning plays a woman grieving for her husband, while her son is also navigating his way through grief.

It is a handbrake turn after Baby Reindeer, but Gunning says the script was "beautiful" and she wanted to be involved "in the special charity".

"Children can deal with big issues like this, and hopefully children will watch and feel seen if they've experienced this, or are going through something similar."

"All my life I've grown up with Children In Need, I went to school dressed up as an Emu and wore it all day."

Jessica Gunning took Pudsey Bear into a recording studio

So what next for Gunning?

She's starring alongside Claire Foy and Andrew Garfield in a film adaptation of Enid Blyton's much-loved children's book, The Magic Faraway Tree, and is filming a comedy with Angelina Jolie.

The actress who's from the West Yorkshire market town where enduring BBC sitcom Last of the Summer Wine was filmed jokes: "It's Holmfirth to Hollywood."

Pudsey and the Thread of Hope airs on 24 December at 10:20 GMT on BBC One and iPlayer, and on 27 December at 17:00 GMT on CBeebies and CBBC.