POLICE have launched a probe after Netflix viewers falsely accused someone of being the real-life villain in hit TV series Baby Reindeer.
The streaming site’s No.1 programme this week is based on comedian Richard Gadd’s experience of being stalked.
Harrowing scenes also show his character Donny being repeatedly sexually assaulted by fictional male TV writer Darrien.
Online sleuths have speculated about the true identity of this character.
Now a man, who has been wrongly accused by fans, says police have been informed of abuse and threats made against him.
A spokesman for a British police force confirmed: “We’re investigating after a man reported receiving threatening messages on social media.
“Enquiries are at an early stage and we are in the process of gathering information from the victim.”
The show’s creator, Mr Gadd, has also urged people to not speculate about who any of the real life inspirations for characters on the show could be.
Netflix declined to comment as some viewers questioned if more could have been done to protect the real identities of people involved in the drama.
It came as fans spread theories about the identity of the show’s main antagonist, Martha, who harassed Mr Gadd, 34, over a number of years.
He claimed they anonymised characters for legal reasons and to protect vulnerable people – despite using real messages and publicising it was based on a true story.
The comic told Variety magazine: “It’s all emotionally 100% true, if that makes sense.
“It’s all borrowed from instances that happened to me and real people that I met.
“But of course, you can’t do the exact truth, for both legal and artistic reasons.
“I mean there’s certain protections, you can’t just copy somebody else’s life and name and put it onto television.
“And obviously, we were very aware that some characters in it are vulnerable people, so you don’t want to make their lives more difficult.
“So you have to change things to protect yourself and protect other people.”
