Baby Reindeer's Richard Gadd secures multi-year first look deal with Netflix after Emmy success

Scots comedian Richard Gadd has inked a multi-year scripted series deal with Netflix with the streaming platform's co-CEO Ted Sarandos confirming his new contract.

At The Royal Television Society's London Convention today on Tuesday (September 17), Sarandos, contributed to a panel discussion where he disclosed Netflix's new agreement with the Baby Reindeer star, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

He said: "I can give you a bit of news this morning, we have finished our first-look deal with Richard Gadd to do his first work at Netflix. I think he's a brilliant storyteller... I'm very proud of Richard of the story he told and the way he told it, and it is his true story."

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Gadd's Baby Reindeer made its debut in April and quickly became a sensation, achieving critical acclaim and generating considerable social media buzz, which preceded its accumulation of 11 Emmy nominations. On Sunday night, the Fife born actor scooped up three top gongs at the Emmys for his performance and scriptwriting in the series.

Viewers were hooked by the troubling story of Donny, an amateur comedian portrayed by Gadd in the Netflix hit. Donny is harassed and stalked in the show by a woman called Martha, played by Jessica Gunning, who he first meets in a pub in London where he works.

Gunning, who also won her first Emmy for best supporting actress on the show, then sends him over 41,000 emails, 744 tweets, 100 pages of letters and 350 hours of voicemails over the course of the show.

Martha, who has already spent four and a half years in jail for a previous stalking conviction in Baby Reindeer, is eventually jailed for nine months after threatening and sexually harassing Gadd.

Gadd plays himself in the show, based on his hit play of the same name that debuted on London’s West End. “This is a true story,” says a title card in the very first episode.

Fiona Harvey, who was identified as the "real-life" inspiration behind the character of Martha in the series, filed a $170m lawsuit against Netflix for defamation and privacy violations.

The series sat in the top spot worldwide for a month and was viewed over 56.5 million times within 26 days of its April 11 release.

Sarandos said at the time: "It’s been an enormous hit around the world," Sarandos said at the time.

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