Fact Check: Is Helen Faure related to Netflix's Baby Reindeer? Explained

Netflix dropped its dark comedy miniseries Baby Reindeer on April 11, 2024, and since then, viewers have wondered about the real identity of Martha. The show follows a woman called Martha who begins stalking an emerging stand-up comedian after he engages with her at a bar.

The series is inspired by true events that happened to actor Richard Gadd, who plays the lead role. Many who have watched the series believe that the woman who inspired the character of Martha in Baby Reindeer is Helen Faure. However, Helen Faure is not the inspiration behind Martha in the Netflix series.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the Netflix miniseries, Baby Reindeer.

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Helen Faure and Netflix's Baby Reindeer are completely unrelated

While there are similarities between the Martha and Faure, the actress in the show was inspired by another woman who stalked Richard Gadd, whose identity has not been revealed publicly.

Helen Faure is the ex-girlfriend of London-based civil litigation barrister Charles Béar KC. A 2023 article by The Standard reported that the couple dated for seven months before Béar called off the relationship. Soon after that, Faure reportedly began stalking him which led to him filing a complaint against her in 2022.

A still from 'Baby Reindeer' (via Netflix)

While Faure was convicted of stalking and given a restraining order, she kept sending messages to Béar about animal cruelty. She also broke the court order, which asked her to cease contact with Béar and maintain a distance of at least 200 meters from his home in Highgate, London.

According to the case report, Helen Faure frequently turned up outside the barrister's home and waited outside his office chambers. She also spammed him with numerous emails, making derogatory remarks about Béar and his family. She plagued him with phone calls and demanded money as well.

In one incident, she sneaked inside her ex-partner's house and refused to leave. She reportedly sat smiling on the sofa until the police arrived to remove her from the premises.

A still from 'Baby Reindeer' (via Netflix)

Besides the restraining order in 2022, Faure was sentenced to a 12-month community order. She was also fined £100 and ordered to pay £200 in prosecution costs along with a victim surcharge of £95. However, after disregarding the restraining order, Helen Faure was handed a 12-month prison sentence suspended for two years in 2023.

After pleading guilty to harassment, she was ordered to complete 10 rehabilitation days and pay £272 in costs, as per The Standard. Following this, she was told by the judge that if she were to break the law again, she would be sentenced to jail.

Richard Gadd as Donny in 'Baby Reindeer' (via Netflix)

It is not improbable to draw a connection between Helen Faure and Baby Reindeer's Martha, even though the two aren't related. Just like Faure, Martha stalks a man and sends him a slew of messages, emails, and voicemails. She repeatedly turns up at places that Richard Gadd's character Donny frequents and begins threatening him.

However, as previously mentioned, Martha is based on another real person who stalked comedian Richard Gadd. Despite similar circumstances and being set in the same location, Martha's character is not based on Helen Faure.

In a GQ article published in April 2024, Gadd revealed that the Netflix show took creative liberties with the character of Martha.

"We’ve gone to such great lengths to disguise her to the point that I don’t think she would recognise herself. What’s been borrowed is an emotional truth, not a fact-by-fact profile of someone," he said.

In the show's ending, Martha pleads guilty and receives a nine-month prison sentence, along with a five-year restraining order. However, it is not known what happened to Gadd's real-life stalker.

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Starring Richard Gadd and Jessica Gunning, Baby Reindeer is currently available to stream on Netflix.