Shirley Ballas stalker avoids jail after six-year campaign against ‘distressed and alarmed’ BBC Strictly judge
A stalker who subjected Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas to a six-year campaign of harassment has been spared jail.
Kyle Shaw, 37, from Wirral, believed Ballas was his aunt during his prolonged stalking ordeal that left the 64-year-old TV star “seriously alarmed and distressed”.
Liverpool Crown Court heard Shaw bombarded Ballas with threatening messages between 2017 and 2023.
He posted images of her home on social media and approached her elderly mother in a supermarket.
The court was told that Shaw had been informed by his own mother that his father was Ballas’s brother David Rich, who took his own life in 2003.
In one Instagram message from October 2020, Shaw wrote: “You ruined my life, I will ruin yours and everyone around you.”
He also posted an image of Ballas’s home on social media platform X, which prosecutors said left her “understandably frightened”.
Shaw arranged to attend her book tour and sent messages addressing her as “Auntie Shirley”.
He created a social media profile in the name of her late brother and sent disturbing messages asking: “Do you want me to kill myself Shirley?”
The stalker also monitored her online and television appearances while attempting to contact her family, friends and work colleagues.
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Ballas was forced to increase security at both her home and workplace as a result of Shaw’s actions.
She stopped taking public transport and staying in hotels, constantly “looking over her shoulder” according to prosecutor Nicola Daley.
The harassment campaign even led Ballas to relocate her 86-year-old mother, Audrey Rich, away from Wirral after Shaw approached her in a supermarket.
Ms Daley told the court: “She felt scared, told him she didn’t want to speak to him but felt as though he continued to follow her and her sister-in-law around the shop for some time.”
The ordeal caused Ballas sleepless nights and significant disruption to her daily life.
Shaw accused Ballas of being responsible for her brother’s death, who took his own life at age 44.
The court heard Shaw’s mother had told him as a teenager that she had a relationship with David Rich and fallen pregnant.
Judge Gary Woodhall noted there was “limited evidence that it’s correct” regarding Shaw’s belief about his parentage.
Shaw approached Ballas’s mother in a supermarket, telling her she was his “grandmother”.
The incident was reported to other family members, adding to their concerns about his behaviour.
His motivation, according to the judge, was “a desire to connect with people you believed were your family”.
Shaw pleaded guilty at Liverpool Crown Court to stalking Ballas between August 2017 and November 2023.
He also admitted possession of cannabis when he appeared in court in February.
The 37-year-old broke down in tears as details of his offending were outlined during the sentencing hearing.
Judge Gary Woodhall handed Shaw a suspended sentence, telling him he had “engaged in persistent unwanted online contact”.
The judge added: “This was a menacing threat against her and her family and involved intrusion of her privacy which caused her real concern for her own safety.”
Shaw arrived at court wearing a face covering, sunglasses and hat.
Ballas previously spoke about becoming more vigilant regarding her personal safety.
“I am a very vigilant person. When I go out, I’m careful not to go alone. If it’s at night, I’m always a little bit nervous,” she said.
The Strictly judge praised the BBC’s support during her ordeal.
“Thankfully, the BBC’s duty of care towards me has been one thousand per cent. They have been fantastic,” Ballas stated.
She explained how the broadcaster provided protection: “When it was difficult this stalker came from the North of England I had somebody walking me from the hotel.”
Ballas joined the Strictly Come Dancing panel in 2017, replacing Len Goodman as head judge.