Richard Osman says ‘everyone’ in industry knows who the Baby Reindeer abuser is-Laura Harman-Entertainment – Metro

Richard Osman claims that the identity of Richard Gadd’s abuser is known in the entertainment industry(Picture: Rex/Netflix )

Author and Pointless star Richard Osman has claimed that ‘everyone’ in the comedy and entertainment industry knows who Richard Gadd’s abuser was.

Netflix’s Baby Reindeer has been a huge success for comedian Richard Gadd, 34, who portrayed some of the real-life sexual assault he experienced from an anonymous comedy writer – named Darrien in the show.

The identity of the attacker was concealed but intense speculation from fans about uncovering the abuser led to a police investigation after a comic was wrongly accused. 

Addressing the speculation, Gadd defended comedy writer and producer Sean Foley, who fans falsely believed to be the real Darrien. 

The Baby Reindeer star wrote in an Instagram story on April 22: ‘People I love, have worked with, and admire (including Sean Foley) are unfairly caught up in speculation. Please don’t speculate on who any of the real-life people could be. That’s not the point of our show. Lots of love, Richard x X.’

Although the abuser may remain a mystery to fans, Osman, 53, has claimed that ‘everyone’ in the industry is well aware of who the offender is. 

Richard launched The Rest is Entertainment podcast in late 2023 (Picture: How To Fail with Elizabeth Day)

On The Rest Is Entertainment podcast, a show Osman hosts with journalist Marina Hyde, he said: ‘As you say, there’s a very, very serious thing that happens with a male comedy producer and Richard Gadd, who, as you say, did the show in Edinburgh and has been very open to people in the industry about who that person was, so people in the industry know who that person was.’

Osman then, without mentioning Foley’s name, defended the person who has been falsely accused by the public. ‘Now it comes out now and a completely different person is identified, someone who has produced Richard Gadd before, but is definitively not the person in any way.’

The brutal eight-part series has been a huge hit for Netflix (Picture: Ed Miller/Netflix)

The television presenter then added that the casting added confusion for fans as Tom Goodman-Hill, the actor who played Darrien, looked like the comedy producer fans believed to be the abuser.

‘But the person they’ve cast in that role looks like this other guy, looks like the guy who’s been falsely accused. And it’s such a weird, bizarre thing to do because this poor guy has had death threats and he’s had to issue a statement to say it’s not me.’

Osman added: ‘And it is not him, definitely not because people in the industry know who it is. And it’s definitely not him.’

Viewers of the Netflix series have also also speculated about Martha’s identity, Gadd’s stalker in the show.

Fans trying to identify the real Martha have been now issued a legal warning by solicitors who have highlighted the ramifications of speculation and encouraged viewers to not attempt and publicly identify the people in the show.

Baby Reindeer is available to stream on Netflix.

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