The 2025 TV BAFTAs brought a whole host of surprising winners— but nobody was shocked when Jessica Gunning took home the Best Supporting Actress award for her role as Martha Scott in the smash hit Netflix series, Baby Reindeer.
Baby Reindeer follows Donny, played by Richard Gadd— who also wrote and created the show— a struggling comedian who is stalked by Martha Scott, played by Jessica Gunning, as he deals with past trauma. The show was a runaway hit and reached 84.5 million views in its first three months of streaming.
Gunning blew audiences away with her terrifying yet loveable portrayal of Martha and has now added a BAFTA to her impressive award season sweep— which includes an Emmy, Golden Globe, and SAG.
After accepting the award, Jessica joked that she adapted a somewhat ‘Martha-like’ approach to cinching the role. After reading the script, she just knew she was the right person to bring Martha to life, and thankfully she eventually ‘wore down’ the casting director.
She said, ‘I was kind of blown away [by the script], especially when I read the final moment of the last episode, I got goosebumps, and I just thought, “You know what? This could be really special.” And then I kind of wore them down, because I went in to audition for it like five times, which is a bit Martha of me, really, in hindsight. But I just kept thinking,” I think I know how to do this.”
Jessica also revealed that she held immense sympathy for Martha— who, spoiler alert, ends up in jail at the end of the series. However, despite all of Martha’s flaws and crimes, Jessica never saw her as a villain.
She continued, ‘If [Martha] was played like a villain or a baddie, I think it would have been a real shame, because I actually saw it as a love story, and so I think that's the only way you can play it, really. I just knew when I read the scripts that it's one of the best things I've ever read, and one of the best characters I've ever had the chance to play.’