Fife comedian Richard Gadd has risen to prominence after his series Baby Reindeer became a hit on Netflix.
The 33-year-old wrote and stars in the show, which was adapted from his one-man play at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2019.
Baby Reindeer – based on true events – sees a struggling comedian (Gadd) being stalked by a woman.
The show has hit the top of the Netflix charts in both the UK and the US since being released last week.
But who is Richard Gadd and how did he become an overnight household name?
Wormit beginnings for Richard Gadd
Richard was born in Wormit in May 1990 and is a former pupil at Wormit Primary School and Madras College.
During his time at secondary school, he took on the lead role in the production of Macbeth, where he was praised for his “wonderfully physical” performance.
After leaving school, he studied English Literature and Theatre Studies at Glasgow University.
During his studies, he would travel across the country to perform stand-up routines, but he never missed a single lecture or tutorial.
First steps in comedy
Richard started to perform at the Edinburgh Fringe during his time at university.
He won the Laughing Penguin New Act of the Year award in 2010 and was a finalist for Chortle’s student comedy awards in 2011, going up against Mock the Week star Glenn Moore.
Richard was also a part of comedy troupe, Gadd, Kirk and Winning, performing with Gary: Tank Commander and Scot Squad star James Allenby-Kirk.
Recognition for comedy shows
Gadd continued to perform at the Fringe annually.
In 2015, he took his show Waiting for Gaddot to London’s Soho Theatre.
During that time he also appeared in E4 show Tripped, with The Inbetweeners star Blake Harrison.
In 2016, Richard won the best comedy show gong at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards for Monkey See, Monkey Do.
In the show, Richard told jokes at the same time as running on a treadmill.
He also used the performance to share that he was raped at a house party during his time as a student.
Baby Reindeer success
After his award win, Richard spent time working in television, including writing episodes for Netflix hit Sex Education and Jon Richardson: Ultimate Worrier.
He also appeared in BBC Two series Against the Law with Daniel Mays.
In 2022, he starred as Conrad Lennox in the Disney Plus series Wedding Season.
For the show, he was able to have DUFC drawn on his knuckles, highlighting his love for Dundee United.
Richard returned to Edinburgh in 2019 with a new one-man play, Baby Reindeer.
The show focused on Richard’s real-life experiences dealing with a stalker, whom he met after serving her a cup of tea during his time working at a bar.
During the show, texts, emails and voicemail transcriptions Richard received from the stalker – titled Martha in the show – appeared on a screen.
Richard won two awards for Baby Reindeer – the Scotsman Fringe First Award for new writing and The Stage award for outstanding performance.
He said: “(I) wasn’t expecting it all.
“The Fringe is a magical place. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”
Richard then took the show to London for a five-week run at the Bush Theatre.
After the run, the show went on to win an Olivier Award for outstanding achievement in affiliate theatre.
A seven-episode drama of the same name was released on Netflix in April 2024 and has since won rave reviews from fans and critics alike.
At the time of writing, it has a 100% rating on the review site Rotten Tomatoes and an 8.3 out of 10 rating on IMDB.
What next for Baby Reindeer star Richard Gadd?
Following the success of Baby Reindeer, the comic is now writing a drama for the BBC, titled Lions.
He has described that project as “dreams come true style stuff”.
Conversation