Baby Reindeer actress Jessica Gunning has revealed that a stranger screamed once at her in the street when she thought she was following her – after playing her stalker character.
The star, 38, played the part of Martha in the hit Netflix show which told the story of aspiring comedian Donny Dunn (played by Richard Gadd) and his experiences being stalked.
But Jessica has now told how one day she came out of her house and a lady yelled at her after recognising her from the show.
She told The Mirror: ‘I came out of my house the other week and a lady was just there on the street and went, ‘Ahhh!’
‘But it’s because she’d just finished episode seven, walked out of her door and then I was there. So I understand why maybe that may have been a bit freaky!’
Baby Reindeer actress Jessica Gunning has revealed that a stranger screamed once at her in the street when she thought she was following her – after playing her stalker character
The star, 38, played the part of Martha in the hit Netflix show which told the story of aspiring comedian Donny Dunn (played by Richard Gadd) and his experiences being stalked
In Baby Reindeer Martha becomes obsessed with Donny, following him home and sending his thousands of emails and texts over a series of months.
She goes on to intimidate his partner and parents before being sentenced in court.
It comes after Jessica spoke for the first time about how she realised she was ‘a big old gay’ and came out 19 months ago.
Last week the actress said it was like a secret she had kept from herself for many years.
Jessica admitted she didn’t think she could be gay, even though there were many signs through out her life, like when she was kissing actress Cate Blanchett on stage every night during a National Theatre production called When We Have Sufficiently Tortured Each Other.
Jessica, who has never been romantically linked to anyone, now describes coming out as ‘liberating’.
Speaking on the Reign podcast, Jessica explained: ‘I came out in November 2022. And that was a mega, mega thing for me because I for so long…I am surrounded by gays, like all my friends are gay, so it wasn’t that I was repressing anything, it was just that I didn’t think that I could be.
‘I still can’t articulate it in the best way.
Jessica continued: ‘But I realised I was a big, old gay. I was like, “That’s what it’s been, that’s what it is”. And that was like a massive moment where everything kind of clicked and I made sense of myself then.
But Jessica has now told how one day she came out of her house and a lady yelled at her after recognising her from the show
She told The Mirror : ‘I came out of my house the other week and a lady was just there on the street and went, ‘Ahhh!’
She added: ‘But it’s because she’d just finished episode seven, walked out of her door and then I was there. So I understand why maybe that may have been a bit freaky!’
‘Because for so long I’d thought, “I know I’m a bigger woman”, and I thought that maybe it was to do with my size that I felt a bit like almost alien or like I was tagging along.
‘But as soon as I realised, I was like “No, it’s tha”‘, and that was like the most liberating thing.’
Jessica blew fans away with her controversial role of Martha the stalker in Netflix series Baby Reindeer.
It comes as it has been revealed that the ‘real-life Martha’ Fiona Harvey is suing the streaming platform Netflix for $50 million.
Fiona Harvey, who says lead character Martha’s life is based on her own, denies ever going to prison or to court, as the show portrays.
Harvey alleges Netflix allowed viewers to track her down in real life and that she is now being inundated with abuse, according to legal papers obtained by TMZ.
In the series Martha is depicted as a bunny-boiling stalker who is constantly harassing the protagonist Donny, played by Richard.
Harvey claims that she is being bombarded with hate from around the world because of how Martha is portrayed in the Netflix hit.
The series shows Martha’s obsession developing as she emails Donny hundreds of times a day, turning up outside his house and harassing his family and friends. It is based on Richard Gadd’s real life experience
It comes as it has been revealed that the ‘real-life Martha’ Fiona Harvey is suing the streaming platform Netflix for $50 million
She asserts that she never stalked Gadd, did not sexually assault him, nor was she ever convicted of stalking.
The Scot alleges that Netflix led viewers to believe that fictional elements of the show were factual.
As a result, Harvey is suing the show for defamation, negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress and violations of right of publicity, among other charges.
She is demanding more than $50million in damages.
