Baby Reindeer creator says Shane MacGowan and the Pogues "have been massive influences"

The creator of Baby Reindeer has cited Shane MacGowan and the Pogues as creative influences for his writing, saying their music helped him as he dealt with addiction and came to terms with sexual abuse.

In a tell-all interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Scottish writer actor and comedian Richard Gadd said that “Shane and the Pogues have been massive influences".

Gadd also told of getting the chance to meet his heroes recently and went on to describe his glee at meeting the band: "I bumped into someone…whose boyfriend produced the show so they gave me a backstage pass.

"I was like, ‘are you kidding me? I’m going to meet the Pogues?’ I met Spider Stacy, Jem Finer and James Fearnley from the Pogues, and all of them had watched the show.

“I just couldn’t believe it. I posted that I met the Pogues and then they actually posted it to their official Instagram, a picture of them with me, which is just kind of unbelievable. They’ve inspired me so much.”

When the late Shane MacGowan passed away in November of last year, Gadd shared a heartfelt tribute on the social media platform expressing his sadness at MacGowan's passing, saying he was "absolutely devastated".

"No artist in my life has influenced me more. I grew up to the sound of his songs playing in the car on family holidays and was hooked from an early age. The lyrics punched through in a way no other musician, artist, or writer ever has."

Gadd also revealed in the same post that he found the Pogue's music to be massively soothing in his life: "When I got myself clean and came to terms with my sexual abuse, I did it by running and listening to his music".

The Baby Reindeer star also revealed that he had written fan mail to Shane MacGowan and received a signed book in return.