If you’ve finished watching Baby Reindeer, you’ll know by now that the new Netflix show is based on the shocking true story of a real-life stalking ordeal from creator and star Richard Gadd’s life.
Those real elements are certainly a big reason why Baby Reindeer made for such compelling viewing, and there are plenty more shows out there you might not even know were based on true events.
Here are just a handful of them…
1. The Watcher
The Watcher began streaming on Netflix in 2022
The true story of The Watcher might actually be even more terrifying than what’s depicted in the TV show.
In the 2022 miniseries, which starred Bobby Cannavale, Naomi Watts and Jennifer Coolidge, a family move into a beautiful home in the New York suburbs, only for them to start receiving disturbing letters from someone who’s apparently watching their house.
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The saga was first detailed in a 2018 feature in The Cut, which ended up forming the basis of the show. And in fact some of the most unsettling details of the TV adaptation all are totally true-to-life, including that the real person signed off their letters with “The Watcher”.
Ambika Mod and Ben Whishaw in This Is Going To Hurt
BBC/Sister/AMC/Anika Molnar
Much like Richard Gadd’s approach in Baby Reindeer (which began life as a one-man play before being turned into a TV show), Adam Kay turned to his own real life experiences to write his best-selling memoir, This is Going To Hurt: Secret Diaries Of A Junior Doctor.
As the name suggests, the book centres around Adam and his former colleagues’ experiences as junior doctors working on a busy obstetrics and gynaecology ward in an NHS hospital, and was adapted for a seven-episode TV series starring Bafta winner Ben Whishaw and One Day’s Ambika Mod in 2022.
The whole show was very much true to author Adam’s own accounts in the overworked and understaffed NHS, all while juggling his own personal life at the same time.
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This Is Going To Hurt is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
3. Inventing Anna
Alexis Floyd and Julia Garner in Inventing Anna
DAVID GIESBRECHT/NETFLIX
Inventing Anna is one of those stories that’s so wild, Hollywood simply had to jump on it.
The 2022 miniseries starring Julia Garner tells the scandalous true story of con-artist Anna Sorokin, who posed as a wealthy German heiress and managed to work her way into New York’s exclusive social scene.
She not only scammed rich socialites, but even conned banks and hotels. Anna served 18 months in prison before being taken back into custody by immigration forces and, as of late 2023, she was under house arrest. Her story was told in Rachel DeLoache Williams’ autobiographical book My Friend Anna: The True Story Of The Fake Heiress Who Conned Me And Half Of New York City.
While you’re probably already familiar with the story of notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar, he’s not the only real person in crime drama Narcos.
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The two DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) officers who took down the drug kingpin – Steve Murphy (Boyd Holbrook) and Javier Pena (Pedro Pascal) are also depicted in the show, and were even brought in as consultants for the first two seasons.
When they were approached about bringing the story to Hollywood, their only stipulation was the show did not “in any way glorify Pablo Escobar and the Medellin Cartel”, as they told The Hollywood Reporter. Like any stylised crime show, though, there are of course creative liberties.
True crime has always attracted a somewhat morbid curiosity from viewers, precisely because the genre is rooted in truth.
Mindhunter, starring Jonathan Groff and Holt McCallany, goes a step further by retracing the advancement of the criminal profiling back in the 1970s that allowed FBI agents to get into the minds of murders.
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The series revolves around the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit and a new research project, which sees agents interview imprisoned serial killers to understand their psychology better.
It’s not only inspired by John E. Douglas and Mark Olshaker’s non-fiction book, Mindhunter: Inside The FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit, but it also references real murders and crimes that shocked the nation like cult leader Charles Manson, serial killer David Berkowitz (known as Son of Sam) and rapist and murderer Montie Rissell.
Mindhunter is available to watch on Netflix.
6. Dopesick
Michael Keaton in Dopesick
The opioid addiction crisis in the US has sparked numerous depictions in popular media, but Dopesick is one of the most famous.
While the characters in the show are fictionalised, the wider context is very much true. The show stars the likes of Michael Keaton, Peter Sarsgaard, Will Poulter and Rosario Dawson, and details the real Purdue Pharma’s misbranded marketing of the painkiller OxyContin, which led to the opioid crisis in America.
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The series is based on Beth Macy’s book Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors And The Drug Company That Addicted America, although creator Danny Strong told NPR that there are also “composite” characters inspired by accounts of the real people affected.
The groundbreaking and hugely popular Netflix show about a women’s prison is based on the memoir of Piper Kerman, who was sentenced to prison for aiding her ex-girlfriend’s drug-smuggling operation.
While Orange Is The New Black eventually departs from her true version of events and breaks off into its own plotlines, the real Piper once told NPR: “When you watch the show, you will see moments of my life leap off the screen.”
Orange Is The New Black is available to watch on Netflix.
The supermarket Aldi has come under fire after posting a joke on social media based around Baby Reindeer.
Earlier in the week, Aldi posted a photo from the set of Baby Reindeer on X (formerly Twitter).
In the picture, the character of Donny is labelled “us” while Martha is referred to as “Tesco and Sainsbury’s”, while the post was captioned: “Obsessed.”
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Given the serious themes of stalking, mental health and sexual assault explored in the hit Netflix series – and the fact the show was inspired by real events from creator and star Richard Gadd’s own life – the post has faced heavy criticism since it was shared, with many questioning whether it’s an appropriate show to joke about…
hate to be that boring person but it doesn’t sit right with me that people, especially brands, are making memes about this show that’s main theme is stalking and sexual abuse. https://t.co/8yc6bg3u2Q
— ★ gods favourite emo ★ (@yasminesummanx) April 30, 2024
Hey Aldi, that show is about rape, stalking and sexual assault. You sure this is OK for marketing. I have a very weird feelings about it.
— Malicia Dabrowicz (Vanadian Avenue) (@cocamidemea) April 30, 2024
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ALDIs media team need a good talking to. A true story about stalking and sexual assault isn’t really meme material. https://t.co/nDRlFQKuVF
Cmon, enough with the Baby Reindeer quips. It’s a show about stalking and sexual assault. Feels like a disservice to the programme and some what dismissive of the subjects it tackles. Meanwhile it makes Aldi look tone deaf and actually quite creepy.
HuffPost UK has contacted representatives for Aldi for comment.
Baby Reindeer began streaming on Netflix last month, and quickly became a sleeper hit for the streaming giant on both sides of the Atlantic.
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For a long time, the show held an enviable critical score of 100% on the reviews website Rotten Tomatoes, and has not budged from Netflix’s list of most-watched TV shows in over a week.
However, since its surge in popularity, Richard and several other cast members have had to speak out against viewers trying to track down the real-life people who inspired the show.
“I think if that is happening, I think it’s a real, real shame, because it shows that they haven’t watched the show properly. That’s not the point of it in any way,” Jessica said last week.
Warning: This article contains spoilers for Baby Reindeer.
Baby Reindeer star Nava Mau has reflected on a deleted scene that would have revealed more information about one of the show’s central relationships.
Nava plays the lead character Donny’s girlfriend, Teri, in the hit Netflix miniseries, which has sparked plenty of conversation since it began streaming earlier this month.
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During a recent interview with GQ magazine, the actor was asked about how things end between Donny and Teri, and whether she felt the former couple managed to get closure after their break-up.
“There actually was one more piece of Teri and Donny’s relationship in the script, and I performed it,” Nava explained.
“Teri leaves Donny a voicemail five months later. So I think, for me, I got closure because Teri did too.”
She continued: “That’s what gave me so much comfort, knowing that they found peace with regards to their relationship. Teri got her happy ending, you know? Teri found a new man, she didn’t lose her friends, she didn’t lose her job, she didn’t lose her smile. She’s good.
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“And I think that is remarkable, because so often we’ve seen stories of trans people that end with them broken.”
“Richard has come out and asked people to stop trying to track down the real people who inspired the characters on the show, and I think for a very good reason,” she said.
“I think it is good to remind people that Richard really went through all of this – experiencing stalking and abuse from multiple people.
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“It is very sensitive and there’s a reason why Richard had to seek protection from his stalker, so let’s not forget the stakes.”
Nava Mau pictured in 2022
David Livingston via Getty Images
Nava added: “I think for his safety, and also just out of respect for everyone, it makes sense to ask people to [stop].”
Jessica said: “I would urge people not to be doing that. I think if that is happening, I think it’s a real, real shame, because it shows that they haven’t watched the show properly. That’s not the point of it in any way.”
Baby Reindeer has quickly become the biggest word-of-mouth TV hit of the year so far, and it’s not hard to see why.
The Netflix miniseries depicts the complicated true story of creator Richard Gadd’s years-long ordeal with a female stalker.
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He wrote and stars in the series as Donny alongside Jessica Gunning, who has won huge acclaim for her nuanced performance as stalker Martha.
Fans of the show have been shocked to discover just how much of the series is steeped in truth, but there are plenty more behind-the-scenes facts that make Baby Reindeer an even more incredible watch…
First of all, yes, Baby Reindeer is all based on a true story
Richard Gadd as Donny in Baby Reindeer
Ed Miller/Netflix
Undoubtedly one of the most shocking things about Baby Reindeer is that it’s all based on a real life stalking ordeal creator Richard Gadd endured for around four-and-a-half years of his life.
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Everything from Donny and Martha’s first meeting in the pub, her relentless texts and emails, and the darker chapters – including his sexual assault – are based on truth.
Among the most disturbing details about the show is that all the emails Donny receives in the show are verbatim copies of the real correspondence.
Richard received a total of 40,000 emails, 740 social media posts and 350 hours’ worth of voicemails from his real stalker, and each email in the show is chillingly depicted word for word.
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However, it’s important to note that not everything depicted in Baby Reindeer is a ‘carbon copy’ of real life
Richard and Jessica on the set of one of Donny and Martha’s earlier meetings
Ed Miller/Netflix
While many details of the show are true to Richard Gadd’s own experiences, the writer has insisted that the show is not an exact recreation of people and events exactly as they happened.
“A lot of it is very true, and all of it is emotionally true,” he told Gay Times. “Obviously, we can’t carbon copy people and identities, for various artistic and legal reasons. But, it is certainly based in emotional truth and lots of the action you see in it happened for real.”
In particular, Richard Gadd wanted to ensure the identity of his real stalker was protected
Jessica Gunning in Netflix’s Baby Reindeer
Ed Miller/Netflix
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The subject of Richard’s real life stalker has inevitably intrigued fans after watching the show – to the point where he’s even pleaded with viewers not to speculate online.
He previously insisted that measures were taken to ensure her identity remained unknown.
“I honestly couldn’t speak as to whether she would watch it,” he told GQ. “Her reactions to things varied so much that I almost couldn’t predict how she’d react to anything. She was quite an idiosyncratic person.
“We’ve gone to such great lengths to disguise her to the point that I don’t think she would recognise herself. What’s been borrowed is an emotional truth, not a fact-by-fact profile of someone.”
Baby Reindeer started life as a one-man stage play
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Before viewers were binge-watching Baby Reindeer on Netflix, Richard was performing a stage version of his story in a one-man Edinburgh Festival Fringe show in 2019.
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In that version, Martha was represented by an empty bar stool.
“It was me and a stool — Martha was a stool and I carried the stool around stage and I’d move her into different positions,” Richard told Variety.
“So to bring it from a 70-minute monologue into seven episodes, multiple characters, different strands and plot lines, it was a massive undertaking and a load of pressure.”
It later transferred to the West End and even won an Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement In Affiliate Theatre.
Richard’s early stand-up comedy really was as bad as his on-screen counter-part’s
Donny on stage in Baby Reindeer
Ed Miller/Netflix
Donny’s comedy routines in Baby Reindeer are… interesting, to say the least. Decked out in elaborate costumes and a suitcase of wacky props, the actor’s struggling comedy career forms the backdrop of the show.
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It turns out that his old stand-up performances really did resemble what we see in the screen. In an interview with the Guardian, he recalled the strange “juxtaposition” of his “tormenting” personal life, with his more mad-cap stage performances.
He added that, while audiences at the Edinburgh Fringe “love weird stuff”, those routines wouldn’t go down so well on the regular comedy circuit.
“I’d perform on the comedy circuit 11 months out of the year, to silence, because people expect more stuff that they see on TV,” he explained.
“Especially if they pay a high ticket price, they want to see dependable, seasoned, veteran comedians, and there’s this guy who’s taping ears to his nose, and they’re thinking: ‘This isn’t what I paid for.’”
Speaking in a video feature for Netflix, he elaborated that “the stand-up in the earlier years was terrible”, adding that he was trying to do “a weird brand” of “anti-comedy”.
","type":"video","meta":{"author":"AfricaOnNetflix","author_url":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzi3g9ade6lq-nGjShQOJJg","cache_age":86400,"description":"Let’s take a deeper dive into the true story of the messy stalking that led to the creation of Baby Reindeer, now streaming on Netflix.\r\n\r\nWatch on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81219888\r\n\r\nSubscribe: https://bit.ly/2SpsrJ1\r\n\r\nAbout Netflix:\r\nNetflix is one of the world’s leading entertainment services with over 260 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, films, and games across a wide variety of genres and languages. 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Richard said he always had Jessica in mind for the part of Martha, telling ITV’s Lorraine: “I’d always seen Jess in various different shows and always thought that every role you did, you brought this kind of amazing nuance to it – always elevated everything you were in.”
He added that it was “something about your essence on camera that made me think, ‘this is Martha, we have to get her in.’”
Jessica had an interesting approach when it came to the audition process
Jessica Gunning in character as Martha
Ed Miller/Netflix
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In the lead-up to her audition, Jessica was leaving nothing up to chance.
“Usually I kind of leave it up to the universe – ‘If I’m right for this part, I’m right for this part,’” she told Vanity Fair. “But I had such a strong response [to the script].”
She even went so far as to have a makeup artist friend help age her appearance, so she could convince the show’s creators she could play an older character.
However, the two-decade age gap featured in the original Baby Reindeer play was eventually reduced by Netflix.
Jessica’s performance was so impressive Richard would find himself getting distracted on set
“To see Martha come alive through Jess’ performance, it was something to behold,” Richard shared in a Netflix video feature. “There were times on set when I was acting with her, I’d almost forget to say my line back, because I was too busy going, ‘Fucking hell she’s good’.”
He added that he “almost couldn’t believe how much she was channelling the real life person”.
It wasn’t exactly easy for Jessica to switch Martha off after a day of filming
Jessica Gunning behind the scenes of Baby Reindeer
Ed Miller/Netflix
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Jessica has revealed that bringing Martha to life wasn’t without its challenges..
“I always used to roll my eyes slightly when actors said ‘Oh god, it took me a week to say goodbye,’ but because this is obviously based on a true story, and I know Richard now, I wanted to do the part justice so much I think I was constantly with her all the time in my head,” she told Metro.
“Even when there were days I wasn’t in, I was thinking of Martha and the story, just wanting to do the best I could do,” Jessica added.
“In that aspect, I didn’t really let go of her until we finished filming. I couldn’t really put her to bed.”
Martha’s email address also contains a hidden reference to a classic show
Richard Gadd as Donny in Baby Reindeer
All of Martha’s emails on the show come from an address resembling a spam account, but the seemingly scrambled sequence is not random at all.
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Journalist (and Lost superfan) Jacob Stolworthy pointed out on X that those numbers are in fact the infamous cursed numbers from Lost.
Baby Reindeer: the ‘random series of numbers like spam’ used in the stalker’s email address are, in fact, the cursed numbers from LOST pic.twitter.com/JksoAJwLJs
One scene shares a key filming location with another of Jessica Cunningham’s biggest projects
Nava Mau on location in the Royal Vauxhall Tavern
Ed Miller/Netflix
While Donny initially tries to limit his dates with Teri to a dingy cocktail bar, she eventually coaxes him into a night out with her at London’s iconic LGBTQ+ venue the Royal Vauxhall Tavern.
These scenes were filmed at the real RVT, which also served as a filming location in All Of Us Strangers starring Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal.
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The Royal Vauxhall Tavern
Jamie Thistlethwaite via Getty Images
Funnily enough, the bar was previously used as a shooting location in another project Jessica Gunning appeared in – 2014’s Pride, about a group of gay activists who set out to help during the 1984 miners’ strike.
Other projects that have been shot at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern in recent history include Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie and Danny Boyle’s miniseries Pistol.
Richard Gadd has an interesting theory about one of the show’s most important scenes
Donny and Martha’s first meeting as depicted in Baby Reindeer
Ed Miller/Netflix
Donny is first introduced to Martha when she enters the pub where he works in tears. As a gesture of kindness, he gives Martha a cup of tea on the house. It’s the catalyst to the whole saga – but it’s never detailed why she was so upset in the first place.
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Appearing on This Morning, host Cat Deeley asked Richard if he knew what prompted the real “Martha” to come into his pub so upset.
“No, but I questioned it all of the time,” he said, before sharing his own idea. “I wondered if it was the end of her stalking relationship with someone else and the start of it with me.”
Nava Mau actually learned ballet to play Teri
Nava Mau as Teri in Baby Reindeer
It turns out the cast of Baby Reindeer did not cut any corners with the show.
One brief scene in episode five shows Teri demonstrating her ballet skills to Donny in her apartment. Although it’s a fleeting moment for viewers, this choreography wasn’t just thrown together – Nava actually learned ballet.
Speaking to Gay Times, she shared: “Every single day on set, I was doing something I had never done before, whether that’s technical or emotional. I had to learn ballet!”
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Baby Reindeer made use of an intimacy coordinator in to make sure everything was handled sensitively
The Baby Reindeer crew brought in the expertise of intimacy coordinator Elle McAlpine, who has previously worked on huge productions like the Oscar-winning Poor Things and Netflix’s One Day.
Nava Mau told GQ it was “really helpful to have a third person” brought into the show’s unique dynamic.
“She had some great little tips for some of the intimate scenes on how to perform them in a way that felt true and connected,” she added.
One scene in particular was ‘traumatic’ for everyone involved
Nava Mau has admitted one scene was particularly difficult for her
There are plenty of moments in Baby Reindeer that make for difficult viewing, but one scene was especially challenging for the whole cast.
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In episode three, Martha catches Donny and Teri on a date, which triggers her to confront and brutally attack Teri. Richard told Gay Times that this scene was “traumatic for everyone”, explaining: “I saw them do that fight scene, rolling around on the floor take after take.”
He added that Nava’s character was required to cry for “10 minutes straight”. It was especially challenging for her because she had “experienced violence like that” before.
She explained: “Even if I didn’t want to relive it, your body inevitably reactivates a certain physical memory. You have to take care of yourself, before, during and after. That’s the only way through it, otherwise it can reopen wounds that you’ll need to deal with.”
“I had physical recall in my muscle memory from when I’ve been attacked like that,” she later revealed to Glamour.
However, Nava did also tell the magazine that co-star Jessica had her “cracking up” between takes while filming their fight sequence.
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“It was such a blessing that I met Jess for the first time when we were doing our stunt training,” she said. “And she was the most lovely person you could ever meet.’
The ending was deliberately ambiguous
Behind the scenes of Baby Reindeer
Ed Miller/Netflix
Baby Reindeer doesn’t end on the good-triumphs-over-evil kind of climax we’re more used to seeing in other TV series.
Instead, the final scene finds Donny on the receiving end of a familiar act of kindness when a barman offers him a free drink – mirroring the first episode. It’s an ending that’s open to all kinds of interpretations, which was very much deliberate on Richard’s part.
“I quite like the ambiguity of the ending, I sort of don’t want to put a meaning on it. I think it can be interpreted in a lot of different ways,” he told the Radio Times.
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“I know what it is in my head – that ending’s my favourite thing in the whole series, the way it ends.”
Baby Reindeer is available to watch on Netflix now.
Since the arrival of Baby Reindeer on Netflix this month, fans have been shocked and moved by the powerful new show about one man’s stalking ordeal.
The miniseries follows pub worker Donny and his experience dealing with a stalker called Martha, while also exploring themes of sexual assault and mental health.
Jessica Gunning in Baby Reindeer (left) and Pride (right)
Netflix/Pathé
Jessica Gunning actor delivers a thoughtful, multi-layered performance as Donny’s stalker Martha in Baby Reindeer.
She caught Richard’s eye thanks to her impressive TV resume including roles in The Outlaws, Back and Fortitude. Going back further, her credits range from Trollied, Jericho, What Remains and the UK version of Law & Order: UK.
Nava Mau in Baby Reindeer (left) and Genera+ion (right)
Netflix/HBO
Nava Mau plays the love interest Teri in Baby Reindeer, and is fairly new to the TV industry.
She has appeared in a few short films, but her biggest role so far was playing Ana in the US dramedy, Genera+ion alongside Justice Smith.
Tom Goodman-Hill
Tom Goodman-Hill in Baby Reindeer (left) and Mr Selfridge (right)
Netflix/ITV/Shutterstock.
Tom Goodman-Hill plays Donny’s abuser, Darrien, in Baby Reindeer, appearing in some of the show’s most harrowing moments.
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He previously appeared in episodes of Silent Witness, Cheat, Humans and Mr Selfridge, as well as the very first episode of Black Mirror, The National Anthem, playing an advisor to the fictional prime minister Michael Callow.
Danny Kirrane in Baby Reindeer (left) and Game Of Thrones (right)
Netflix/HBO
Before playing one of the managers at Donny’s pub job in Baby Reindeer, Danny Kirrane’s TV show appearances included The Sandman, The Serpent Queen and Trollied.
Hugh plays a drama school friend of Donny’s in Baby Reindeer, having previously been in TV shows like Juice Dreamland, Atlanta, Death In Paradise and Defending The Guilty. He also made his film debut in 2018’s The Festival, from the creator of The Inbetweeners.
On the stage he played the original role of George McFly in the stage musical version of Back To The Future, which earned him a nomination at the 2022 Oliviers.
Michael Wildman
Michael Wildman in Baby Reindeer (left) and Emmerdale (right)
Netflix/ITV/Shutterstock
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Emmerdale fans will of course know Michael for playing Al Chapman on the soap between 2019 and 2022. He also has TV credits in Marcella, Rellik, Back, Family Affairs and Casualty.
As for film roles, he’s had small and supporting appearances in films like Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw, Ready Player One, London Has Fallen and The Bourne Ultimatum. And, not that anyone would recognise Michael under all the prosthetics and makeup, he even played the centaur Magorian in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
Shalom Brune-Franklin
Shalom Brune-Franklin in Baby Reindeer (left) and Line Of Duty (right)
Netflix/BBC
Before she landed the part of Donny’s ex-girlfiend Keeley in Baby Reindeer, you probably recognised from her performance as DC Chloe Bishop in Line Of Duty’s seventh season.
She also appeared in Our Girl, The Tourist and the 2023 TV adaptation of Great Expectations.
Nina Sosanya
Nina Sosanya in Baby Reindeer (left) and with Sarah Lancashire in Last Tango In Halifax (right)
