It would be beyond understatement to say that 2024 has been an extraordinary year for comedian and writer/actor Richard Gadd. Success in the entertainment industry comes in many forms (awards, chat-show appearances, invitations to Hollywood), but the global reception of Netflix’s adaptation of Gadd’s solo theatre piece Baby Reindeer (which resulted in all of the above) has been near unprecedented. It made the Fife-born comedian a household name overnight, catapulting him to a level of fame that is as exposing as it is validating.

‘I really believed in Baby Reindeer and thought it would create a lot of debate and public interest,’ Gadd says. ‘I anticipated it would be a success. But to this level? No chance. I never thought for a second about Emmy wins and 240 million views since its release, or being number one in 80 countries around the globe.’ Gadd wrote the stage show eight years ago, to process the traumatic experiences he’d had while working as a fledgling stand-up, bartending to pay the bills. You’d have to have been living under a rock not to be aware of the fallout that has emerged from the show’s billing as ‘a true story’, but Gadd has always maintained it is a blend of fact and fiction.

His character Donny is stalked and harassed by one of the pub’s regulars, a lonely woman named Martha. Meanwhile, after networking his way into the comedy writing scene, Donny is sexually abused by an established screenwriter purporting to help him break through in the industry. With its harrowing scenes, knotty moral ambiguity (Donny freely admits to indulging Martha in the beginning) and edgy cinematography, it doesn’t scream ‘mainstream hit’. And yet the response, Gadd says, has been ‘beyond my wildest dreams’.

The biggest surprise, he says, has been seeing it hit number one in countries such as Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Oman; places Gadd points out he would not be able to safely visit as a bisexual man. But by far the best thing about the show’s success has been its impact on survivors of abuse and stalking.

We Are Survivors, the sexual-abuse charity for men, has seen an 80% rise in referrals since Baby Reindeer’s release, while The Suzy Lamplugh Trust, which supports survivors of stalking, has seen a 47% increase. ‘Having such an impact on people’s welfare and motivating them to seek help is without a doubt the part of the show’s reach I am most proud of.’

Being cast as Macbeth in his school play first gave Gadd the acting bug. He was also a huge fan of noughties sitcom The Office (‘still my favourite television show of all time’). Learning that Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant wrote, produced and performed in that show cemented his desire to do the same. He is currently in production for a new series, Lions, which explores masculinity, but after eight years of writing autobiography, this one is purely based on fiction. ‘I think shaking it up and making sure you challenge yourself in different ways is a good thing to do as an artist. To get out of your comfort zone.’

Meanwhile the Fife village of Wormit, where Gadd’s parents still live, has also had to contend with its new-found fame. ‘When the show was at its height of popularity, my parents were getting people turning up on the doorstep all hours of the day and night,’ Gadd says. ‘I am sure the town is happy for me. It is a small town and everyone knows everyone, so I will bloody well hear if not!’

Main picture: Pip.