‘You are so vulnerable’: Australian celebrities talk being stalked following Netflix’s Baby Reindeer

The latest water cooler TV show, Baby Reindeer, is sparking Aussie comedians and celebrities to share their own private horror stalker stories, which have left some fearing for their lives.

The real-life, extremely touchy issue around celebrity stalkers has come to the fore following the hit release of Baby Reindeer.

The number one Netflix black-comedy drama and horror story all rolled into one, has become the latest water cooler TV show and is based on comedian Richard Gadd’s real life experience of being stalked.

The at times seriously confronting British series highlights a well-known industry secret inside Australia’s TV networks, theatres and radio stations, with executives in constant talks with police about celebrity stalkers.

Many of our TV talent, showbiz and radio stars receive a constant barrage of emails, texts and alarming messages, which if deemed threatening, inappropriate or menacing, are then referred on to police.

The network modus operandi has always been “nothing to see here”, imploring media or talent not to give the stalkers any airtime or oxygen for fear of fuelling the fire.

Adding to mental health concerns of both the victim and stalker is also an issue raised.

But behind the closed corridor studio doors there are plenty of comedians and showbiz stars battling privately with constant harassment and in fear for their lives.

One Melbourne TV presenter and household name whom Page 13 has chosen not to name, was inundated with letters from a crazed fan who believed she was sending him messages through the television screen.

Wil Anderson used to have a fan who would write him long letters every single day as if they had a ‘personal relationship’.

It became a well known and sensitive issue dealt with by the network and Victoria Police, who contacted the man to cease and desist.

The issue became more alarming when the newly-married TV presenter appeared on the lifestyle series without her wedding ring on after prerecording the show.

Believing she was sending him signals through the television, the stalker again began to badger and harass her.

Comedian Wil Anderson waded into the touchy subject this week when he, oh-so-carefully, talked about why he felt triggered not to watch the show.

“Like a lot of comedians, and without wanting to go into it, it’s a very personal medium,” Anderson shared on Nova’s Fitzy & Wippa with Kate Ritchie.

“What often people can feel like is they know you very well. So that’s actually part of the illusion — it’s a bit like radio — you’re sharing your lives with your audience every day and people can start to feel like, I’m listening to you in the shower, I’m listening to you in the car, you’re an intimate part of my life.”

Netflix’s Baby Reindeer shines a light on the real dangers of celebrity stalking. Picture: Ed Miller/Netflix

Just like Gadd’s own experience of being stalked as he plays a fictionalised version of himself as comedian Donny Dunn in Baby Reindeer, Anderson said her would receive a daily barrage of intimate emails when he hosted a show for Triple J from 2000 to 2004.

Anderson went on to explain how he used to have a fan who would write him long letters every single day as if they had a “personal relationship.”

“When I was at Triple J - I think this is probably safe enough now to tell, it was so long ago — I had a woman write to me every single day we were on air — and this was in the old days where you had to write on pieces of paper in envelopes — every day, after every show.

“I imagine there’s a lot of people who work in these industries who have been touched with some story of that,’ Anderson added.

Just last year Rhonda Burchmore opened up about the horror of living in the spotlight with a stalker in the shadows and threats of being attacked on stage.

Rhonda Burchmore receieved threats of being shot on stage from a stalker. Picture: Steve Pohlner

In August a Werribee man, who had made headlines for bizarre celebrity claims including that he was married to much loved Channel 9 newsreader Peter Hitchener and whom Page 13 has chosen not to name, pleaded guilty to perjury over a lie he told to police that he was assaulted by Burchmore at the opening of Dolly Parton’s 9 To 5 The Musical in July 2022.

“You are so vulnerable when you’re up there,” Burchmore told the Herald Sun last year. “You’re just doing your thing. If someone knows your performance times and schedule like clockwork, and they’ve seen it for six months, every move, every step, every position on the stage … you become a sitting target.”

At the time Burchmore was starring in Hairspray The Musical and was granted an intervention order against the alleged offender. She said it became very “tricky” for her to do the show in Melbourne with Marriner Theatres and Victoria Police putting extra security measures in place for her.

“You are so exposed as an artist to go out there, eight times a week, with the same show. I’m so grateful everyone stepped in to protect me. I felt far more confident to go on stage, and do what I had to do every night, knowing the Regent Theatre, the (show’s) producers and Victoria Police, were doing their utmost to protect me.”

Burchmore said the alleged clash triggered terrifying memories of a stalker who harassed her during Hot Shoe Shuffle on London’s West End in 1994.

“He started off a bit obsessed, then bought a ticket to the show, in the same seat, every week just to see me,” Burchmore said.

“I used to get letters from him every week asking if I’d meet him. It all started very pleasantly. When I didn’t respond, or meet him where he wanted for coffee, or drinks, it escalated into death threats.

“This was before 9-11 and security. People didn’t have their handbags checked when they went into the theatre. He had to be forcibly removed from the theatre by police because he threatened to shoot me on stage. I got a letter saying, I know exactly when I’m going to shoot you. That’s how vulnerable and exposed we are as entertainers.”

Burchmore is right. When you’re up there, there’s nowhere to hide.