Richard Osman says "everyone" in the industry knows the real identity of the abusive producer from 'Baby Reindeer'

Speculation has been rife regarding the real identity of 'Darrien O'Connor'

If you've watched 'Baby Reindeer' on Netflix, you'll already be aware that the story is based on a real-life incidence of a stalker that harassed comedian Richard Gadd.

However, one of the other main threads of the series tells how Gadd was abused by a high-flying TV comedy writer/producer, who is called Darrien O'Connor in the series, and who initially helps Donny (aka Gadd) by taking him under his wing before plying him with alcohol and drugs and raping him.

The disturbing revelation has led many to question the true identity of the writer - but now Richard Osman has claimed that 'everyone' in the TV industry knows who he is, and that Gadd had been "very open to people in the industry" about who abused him.

"As you say, there’s a very, very serious thing that happens with a male comedy producer," he said. "And Richard Gadd, who, as you say, did the show in Edinburgh and has been very open to people in the industry about who that person was - so people in the industry know who that person was."

He noted that social media speculation had led to the wrong man being identified in recent weeks, as Gadd wrote on Instagram: "Please don't speculate on who any of the real life people could be. That's not the point of our show."

Osman said: "Now it comes out now and a completely different person is identified - someone who has produced Richard Gadd before - but is definitively not the person in any way. But the person they’ve cast in that role looks like this other guy; the guy who’s been falsely accused.

"And it’s such a weird, bizarre thing to do because this poor guy has had death threats and he’s had to issue a statement to say it’s not me. And it is not him, definitely not because people in the industry know who it is. And it’s definitely not him."

Gadd, meanwhile, has recently faced accusations of misconduct himself, after it was revealed that he pursued and dated a trans actress, Reece Lyons, who auditioned for the role of his ex-girlfriend Teri in the series. However, the show's producers Clerkenwell Productions cleared Gadd of any wrongdoing after an investigation.