Stalker who believed Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas was his aunt avoids jail

A man who stalked Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas for six years has avoided jail.

Kyle Shaw, 37, got a 20-month suspended sentence and a lifetime restraining order on contacting Ballas, her mother, niece, and former partner.

Liverpool Crown Court heard that he thought Ballas was his aunt and "began a persistent campaign of contact".

"He believed, and it's evident from what he was told by his mother, that her late brother was his father," said prosecutor Nicola Daley.

The court heard there was no evidence he was wrong, and "limited evidence" he was correct.

Ms Daley said Shaw's messages had accused Ballas of being to blame for the death of her brother, who took his own life in 2003 aged 44.

He also set up social media accounts in his name.

Shaw had pleaded guilty to stalking the former dancer between August 2017 and November 2023 at a hearing in February.

Incidents included following Ballas's 86-year-old mother, Audrey Rich, while she was shopping and telling her she was his grandmother.

The court heard in messages to Mrs Rich, Shaw had asked: "Where's my dad?"

Ballas was so worried for her mother's safety that she moved her from Merseyside to London.

In October 2020, Ballas called police after Shaw messaged her and said: "Do you want me to kill myself, Shirley?"

Posts on X included one alongside an image of her home address that warned: "You ruined my life, I'll ruin yours and everyone's around you."

Another referenced a book signing and said: "I can't wait to meet you for the first time Aunty Shirley. Hopefully I can get an autograph."

The court was told Ballas's niece Mary Assall, former partner Daniel Taylor and colleagues from Strictly Come Dancing and ITV's Loose Women were also sent messages.

'I know where you live'

On one occasion in late 2023, Shaw called Mr Taylor and told him he knew where the couple lived and described Ballas's movements.

The court heard the 64-year-old TV star become wary of socialising and stopped using public transport.

Prosecutor Ms Daley said: "She described having sleepless nights worrying about herself and her family's safety and being particularly distressed when suggestions were made to her that she and her mother were responsible for her brother taking his own life."

Shaw cried and wiped away tears as he was sentenced on Tuesday.

The judge said the stalking stemmed from his mother telling him Ballas's brother, David Rich, was his biological father.

"I'm satisfied that your motive for this offending was a desire to seek contact with people you genuinely believed were your family," he said.

"Whether in fact there's any truth in that belief is difficult, if not impossible, to determine."

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Defence lawyer John Weate said Shaw had been told the story by his mother "in his mid to late teens" and had suffered "complex mental health issues" since he was a child.

He added: "He now accepts that Miss Ballas and her family don't wish to have any contact with him and, importantly, he volunteered the information that he has no intention of contacting them again."

Shaw, of Whetstone Lane in Birkenhead, also admitted possessing cannabis and was ordered to undertake a rehab programme.

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