Kyle Shaw, a 37-year-old man from Birkenhead, has been handed a suspended prison sentence for his persistent stalking of Strictly Come Dancing judge, Shirley Ballas.
His obsessive behavior, which lasted over several years, included sending threatening and abusive messages to Ballas, as well as to her family, friends, and colleagues. Shaw’s actions were fueled by a false belief that Shirley Ballas was his aunt and that her late brother, David Rich, was his biological father.
This delusion led him to engage in a campaign of harassment that caused significant distress and anxiety to the victim and her loved ones.
The stalking campaign began in August 2017 and continued until November 2023, with Shaw’s behavior becoming increasingly menacing. He sent Ballas disturbing messages, including one that made a direct threat to her life and the lives of her family members.
This culminated in a sentence of 20 months in prison, which was suspended for 20 months. Liverpool Crown Court heard that Shaw’s actions were not just an obsession with a celebrity but were driven by his belief that he was trying to connect with his family. Despite the baseless nature of his belief, the court acknowledged the distress his actions caused.
Judge Gary Woodhall, who passed the sentence, called Shaw’s behavior a “menacing threat” and emphasized the seriousness of the harm caused to Ballas and her family. As part of his sentence, Shaw was also given a lifelong restraining order, prohibiting him from having any contact with Shirley Ballas, her mother, niece, or former partner.
This restraining order means that Shaw will never again be able to contact or approach the people he harassed, providing some sense of security for his victims.
The court was informed that Shaw’s belief about his familial connection to Shirley Ballas was largely based on information he received from his mother, who had told him that David Rich, Ballas’s late brother, was his father.
Although the court noted that there was limited evidence to either confirm or deny this belief, it was clear that Shaw’s conviction stemmed from his misguided attempts to make contact with a family he believed to be his own. His obsession with this idea, however, led him to commit several offenses that deeply affected Ballas.
Shaw’s stalking of Ballas escalated over time. He not only sent messages accusing her of being responsible for her brother’s death in 2003 but also created social media profiles using her late brother’s name. In one particularly disturbing incident, Shaw approached Ballas’s 86-year-old mother, Audrey Rich, while she was shopping in Wirral.
He insisted that she was his grandmother and followed her around the store when she tried to avoid him. This event was so unsettling that it prompted Ballas to move her mother away from Merseyside to London for safety.
The stalking also extended to online harassment, with Shaw posting on Twitter (now X) a message that included an image of Ballas’s home address, accompanied by a threatening statement: “You ruined my life, I’ll ruin yours and everyone around you.”
This type of behavior caused Ballas to become increasingly anxious, to the point where she stopped using public transportation and became reluctant to socialize with colleagues.
Her distress was compounded by suggestions that she and her mother were somehow responsible for the death of her brother, a claim that Shaw had made in his messages.
In October 2020, Ballas contacted the police after receiving a particularly chilling message from Shaw, in which he asked, “Do you want me to kill myself, Shirley?” This message was part of a broader pattern of erratic behavior, with Shaw continuing to send alarming communications.
He also targeted other members of Ballas’s life, including her niece, Mary Assall, and colleagues from “Loose Women” and “Strictly Come Dancing.”
In November 2023, he contacted Ballas’s former partner, Daniel Taylor, making an implied threat by mentioning the location of their home and describing Ballas’s movements.
In another disturbing episode, Shaw messaged Ballas ahead of a book signing in Wirral, calling her “Aunty Shirley” and expressing a desire to meet her. He falsely believed that they were family, and this delusion led him to believe that meeting her was inevitable.
His constant intrusions into her life, both online and in person, created a climate of fear and anxiety that Ballas struggled to cope with. The court recognized that his actions were not just a series of random incidents but part of a longer, consistent pattern of harassment.
When sentencing Shaw, Judge Woodhall acknowledged that Shaw had been driven by a misguided desire to reconnect with people he believed to be his family. However, the judge also noted that the persistence of Shaw’s behavior, his refusal to acknowledge Ballas’s wishes, and the distress he caused her and her family could not be ignored.
The court concluded that Shaw’s delusional belief was not an excuse for his actions, which were recognized as stalking and harassment.
Shaw’s defense lawyer, John Weate, pointed out that Shaw had suffered from complex mental health issues for much of his life. Shaw had reportedly been told by his mother during his teenage years that David Rich was his father, which further fueled his misguided belief.
Weate emphasized that Shaw now understood that Shirley Ballas and her family did not want any contact with him and had no intention of continuing his attempts to reach out to them. Shaw’s use of cannabis was also mentioned as a contributing factor to his erratic behavior, though it was acknowledged that his mental health challenges were a primary concern.
As part of his sentence, Shaw was ordered to complete 20 days of rehabilitation activity and participate in a 12-month drug rehabilitation program. The court hopes these measures will help Shaw address his underlying issues and prevent him from engaging in similar behavior in the future.
The Crown Prosecution Service’s Natassia McAdam stated that Shaw’s actions were a clear case of stalking, causing severe anxiety and distress to Ballas over an extended period of time. McAdam noted that Shaw’s behavior had become increasingly erratic, leading Ballas to fear for her safety.
Shirley Ballas, originally from Wallasey, Wirral, has been a prominent figure in the dance world for decades. She became the head judge on “Strictly Come Dancing” in 2017 and has had a successful career as a dancer, winning multiple international competitions, including the World Latin American Championships by the age of 21.
After retiring from competitive dancing in 1996, Ballas continued to influence the dance world, but her career was marred by Shaw’s persistent harassment.
