Man, 37, pleads GUILTY to stalking Strictly judge Shirley Ballas in terrifying six-year ordeal

A MAN has pleaded guilty to stalking Strictly judge Shirley Ballas in a terrifying six-year ordeal.

Kyle Shaw, 37, bombarded 64-year-old Shirley with messages from 2017 to 2023.

Shaw today pleaded guilty to stalking Shirley at Liverpool Crown Court.

The charge stated that at an address in Birkenhead, Shaw ‘‘pursued a course of conduct, namely sending messages online, which amounted to stalking causing Shirley Ballas serious alarm or distress”.

It added this “had a substantial adverse effect on her usual day-to-day activities”.

Prosecutor Angela Conlan said that he was responsible for “persistent actions over a prolonged period spanning from 2017 to 2023”.

The case comes five months after Shirley said she called in police after a man took photos of her house and car,

He also "lunged" at her on one occasion - although it is not known whether that case is connected to Shaw's.

She said: "I like to be kind of like a free bird, but we’re coming into times now where you have to be more ­vigilant of yourself.

“You’re upping your level of alarms. And I always tell my mum, ‘I’m here, I’ve arrived’. I wouldn’t bother normally but it’s become a thing that we do.

‘‘I always like to say, ‘I’m safe, I’m in the right place, I’m where I should be.’

“Thankfully the BBC’s duty of care towards me has been one thousand per cent. They have been fantastic.

“So, in some of these instances, when it was difficult — this stalker came from the North of England — I had somebody walking me from the hotel. They checked in on me to make sure that I was OK. I just felt very well protected.”

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