EVER since Baby Reindeer dropped, fans have been trying to work out who the characters are based on in real-life.
One man who has been falsely accused of being the character Darrien is Sean Foley.
Who is Sean Foley?
Born John Foley on November 21, 1964, Sean Foley is a British director, writer, comedian and actor.
Following early success as part of the comedy double act The Right Size and their long-running stage show The Play What I Wrote, he turned his attention to directing.
Since then, he has directed several West End shows including the smash hit Ladykillers and the stage production of Ben Hur.
In 2019, Sean was appointed as Artistic Director of the Birmingham Repertory Theatre.
What is Baby Reindeer about?
Netflix’s powerful series Baby Reindeer has gripped fans with its nightmare storyline of a man being stalked.
The miniseries is actually based on the real life experiences of comedian Richard Gadd, who found himself the victim of one woman’s obsession.
Baby Reindeer follows struggling comedian Donny who works in a pub to support himself.
His life takes a shocking turn when he offers a woman named Martha a free cup of tea, and she becomes obsessed with him.
Donny initially appreciates the attention he’s getting from Martha and flirts with her.
However, she soon crosses the boundary from friend to stalker, which brings to light Donny’s past trauma of sexual abuse.
This was based on Richard Gadd’s own experiences of being sexually assaulted by a comedy writer he worked with.
Speaking about why he included this within the plot of Baby Reindeer, he told Radio Times: “On a fundamental level, you see sexual abuse in television – not all the time – but a lot of the time as an anonymous figure in the night.
“But a lot of abuse happens in power dynamics, work dynamics, relationship dynamics, all those kinds of things.
“I hadn’t really seen the psychological complexity of it too often on television and I really wanted to show the perniciousness of the grooming cycle, just as much as the abuse cycle.
“Abuse survivors can feel just as much shame about the idea of feeling duped or the idea of feeling manipulated.
“One of the feelings that was left with me after everything was, ‘God, I just feel so stupid’.
“I think being so honest, not just about the assault but how it got to that point, I hope will provide comfort for people who are maybe going through the same thing.”
Sexual assault helplines and support
IF you or someone you know has been affected by any issues raised in this story, there are institutions you can reach out to for help and advice.
You can contact the rape and sexual abuse support line run by Rape Crisis England and Wales on 0808 500 2222, or use the online chat (both are free and are open 24 hours a day, every day of the year).
Alternatively you can call the 24-hour freephone National Domestic Abuse Helpline, run by Refuge, on 0808 2000 247.
Remember, it is never too late to speak up.
What has Richard Gadd said?
Richard has stressed that Darrien from Baby Reindeer is NOT based on Sean Foley.
The actor has urged fans not to speculate “on who any of the real-life people could be”, saying that is “not the point of our show”.
He went on to say that Sean has been “unfairly caught up in speculation”.
Posting on Instagram, Richard said: “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.”
Sean reposted the message on X, formerly Twitter, and wrote: “Police have been informed and are investigating all defamatory abusive and threatening posts against me.”
Baby Reindeer by numbers
The Netflix series has become quite the breakout smash hit...
- 7 Number of episodes in the series
- 30 Number of countries the series has topped the Netflix chart in
- 64 Percentage increase in viewers the show earned in its second week, compared to its first
- 97 The show’s percentage score on industry bible Rotten Tomatoes
- 41,071 Amount of emails Richard claims he was sent by the real life Martha
- 13.3 million Number of viewers who tuned into the show during its first week