Editor of Executive Awards

Produced for a song and released with little fanfare, Richard Gadd’s Netflix hit Baby Reindeer exceeded all expectations and became a surprise sensation. It made Gadd and his co-star Jessica Gunning overnight stars, who have since adjusted to life in the spotlight. As the tabloid press, particularly in their native Britain, stirs controversy, Joe Utichi travels across London to meet Gadd and Gunning as they highlight the lives their show is changing for the better.

Richard Gadd does his best to remain anonymous, though it’s not so easy for him anymore. As of April 11, he’s become one of the most recognizable faces in the world. He physically transformed for Baby Reindeer, losing weight to better recall the leaner version of his younger self on which he based his new show, but his big blue eyes and high cheekbones are now unmistakable to anyone who welcomed him into their homes on screen — or, perhaps, into their psyche — in the months since the show debuted.

We meet in north London, where Gadd has suggested a walk and a chat in a local park. He moves at a pace, a large baseball cap pulled low over his head, and lowers his volume when others get too close. He doesn’t hide — a conversation like this could easily have been conducted in a private space if he’d preferred — but he didn’t really expect Baby Reindeer to adapt so quickly to the global fame that its huge success brought.