A man who pleaded guilty to stalking Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas has been handed a suspended prison sentence.
According to the Press Association, 37-year-old Kyle Shaw believed the 64-year-old was his aunt, and that her late brother, David Rich, was his father.
Shaw reportedly embarked on a “persistent campaign of contact”, sending messages and threats to Shirley, as well as her family members, friends and colleagues.
Appearing at Liverpool Crown Court on Tuesday, Shaw was handed a 20-month prison sentence, suspended for 20 months.
He was also slapped with a lifelong restraining order, prevented him from contacting Shirley, as well as her niece, mother and former partner.
At a hearing in February, Shaw pleaded guilty to stalking Ms Ballas, causing serious harm or distress, between 31 August 2017 and 29 November 2023.
The court heard that Shaw accused Ballas of being responsible for the death of her late brother, who died by suicide in 2003 at the age of 44.
In 2019, Shaw also approached Shirley’s elderly mother while she was out shopping in Wirral, prompting the Strictly star to move her mother from Merseyside to London.
The court also heard how Shaw posted messages on X, formerly Twitter, including an image revealing Shirley’s home address.
“You ruined my life, I’ll ruin yours and everyone’s around you,” he wrote at the time.
Prosecutor Nicola Daley told the court how Shaw’s actions impacted Shirley’s life.
She 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.”
