Baby Reindeer star Richard Gadd sends urgent warning to fans over 'online scammer'

Baby Reindeer star and writer Richard Gadd has alerted fans to an online scammer pretending to be him.

In the black comedy series, which is based on his one-man theatre show, Gadd shares his real-life experience of being stalked by Martha Scott, portrayed by Jessica Gunning, and sexually assaulted in his twenties.

The success of the Netflix hit has sparked significant interest in identifying the real-life woman upon whom the stalker is modeled on.

Aside from internet sleuths trying to reveal Martha’s real identity, Gadd has now discovered that a scammer is soliciting money from fans online, falsely claiming to be him.

He posted to his Instagram Story: “I have received reports of people impersonating me online.

“I would never ask for money from fans. This is my only official social media account. Lots of love, Richard xx.”

Fife-born Gadd’s latest update comes after a woman has identified herself as the inspiration behind Martha.

In real life, the actor gave a cup of tea to a lonely woman and this simple action sparked an obsession which resulted in him receiving more than 40,000 emails, 740 tweets, 350 hours of voicemail, 100 pages of letters and 45 Facebook messages over the following five years.

The series has been a hit, being hailed by the Standard as “nail-biting” and “not for the faint-hearted”.

The series, spoiler alert, ends with Martha being given a prison sentence and disappearing from the life of the protagonist.

Since then, a woman Fiona Harvey has come forward and claimed that she's become the target of internet trolls, cults and amateur sleuths following the series.

Despite her denial of being the stalker portrayed in the show, the 58-year-old has alleged that she has been singled out by "nutters" and is now experiencing stalking herself in the wake of Baby Reindeer's popularity.

The Scottish-born woman also claimed that she's been targeted by "dangerous" internet stalkers from "a cult thing like the Moonies" in an interview with The Daily Record.

The law graduate also said she is now considering legal action against Netflix over the portrayal, telling The Scottish Sun that she will “kick their a***s” in court.

The Standard has reached out to Richard Gadd’s rep for comment.

Gadd has already tried to stop fans from speculating about who real-life equivalents could be and has said that although the plot is based on reality, many elements are dramatised.

He has specifically called out the abuse of Sean Foley, who supporters had wrongly identified as being the inspiration for a producer who takes advantage of Donny.

He said on Instagram last week: “People I love, have worked with, and admire (including Sean Foley) are unfairly getting 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.”