A stalker who made Strictly Come Dancing star Shirley Ballas’ life hell over a terrifying six-year ordeal was spared jail earlier this year – after a court heard he believed she was his aunt.
Now, Shirley, 64, has broken her silence on the ordeal, revealing how her stalker, Kyle Shaw, 37, from the Wirral, once followed and confronted her 87-year-old mother in a supermarket, leaving the family traumatised.
In a candid new interview the Strictly head judge opened up about the lasting mental scars the campaign of harassment has left and admitted she may never feel safe again.
She said: ‘I will never feel completely safe again. I’m looking around and watching all the time…. and life shouldn’t have to be like that. That’s what he’s done to me and my family.’
In her new memoir, Best Foot Forward, Shirley details the scale of Kyle’s chilling campaign – from sinister social media messages to confronting her vulnerable mother, Audrey, in a supermarket aisle.
She wrote: ‘I didn’t feel safe in my own home and had sleepless nights worrying about what he was going to do. Would he put a bomb through the letterbox? Or try to set the house on fire? I had smoke detectors installed everywhere.
Shirley Ballas has admitted she will ‘never feel safe again’ as she recounted the terrifying moment her stalker followed and confronted her 87-year-old mother Audrey in a supermarket (Shirley and her mother Audrey pictured 2021)
Kyle Shaw, 37, who made the Strictly Come Dancing star’s life hell during a terrifying six-year stalking campaign, was spared jail earlier this year – after a court heard he believed she was his aunt (Kyle pictured in April)
‘He’d shown he was prepared to follow a little old lady round the supermarket, what else was he capable of doing to frighten the living daylights out of my family,’ she added, as per The Sunday Mirror.
The nightmare began in 2017, when Shirley joined Strictly as Head Judge, replacing the late Len Goodman.
That same year, Kyle began messaging her online, claiming to be the son of her late brother David, who died by suicide in 2003, aged 44.
At first, Shirley and her team dismissed him as a crank, but the messages soon turned sinister and graphic.
According to The Mirror, in one particularly disturbing message, Kyle accused Shirley of being responsible for her brother’s death.
She eventually reported him to the police, who issued a warning – but it had no effect.
Shirley said that not only did he continue to harass and attack her, but he also began bombarding other members of her family, including her elderly mother, Audrey.
He allegedly sought out Shirley’s friends and sent them horrifying messages, using language so graphic she said she couldn’t bring herself to repeat it.
She said: ‘I will never feel completely safe again. I’m looking around and watching all the time…. and life shouldn’t have to be like that. That’s what he’s done to me and my family’ (Shirley and Audrey pictured 2017)
Fearing for her safety, Shirley was forced to install CCTV and additional alarms at her home, and she even stopped using public transport.
She was also given additional security by the BBC during Strictly and its nationwide tour.
Worryingly, the harassment would always ramp up in August, around the time publicity began for the new Strictly season.
Shirley revealed that Kyle once told her to ‘look over my shoulder’ and warned that he’d ‘always be there.’
He also posted a photograph of her house and car on social media, threatening to ‘ruin her life’ and everyone close to her.
When Shirley’s debut novel was released in 2023, Kyle sent a torrent of threatening messages, warning he might show up at one of the events on her promotional tour – which was an ‘enormously distressing’ experience for the star.
The final straw came when Kyle followed her mother in a supermarket in Liscard and confronted her. Shirley immediately moved Audrey into her home in London.
Despite frequent contact with police, Shirley said she felt let down by the system.
Kyle was arrested in December 2023 and initially pleaded not guilty to stalking, but changed his plea to guilty in February 2025. He was given a 20-month suspended sentence on April 1 and banned from contacting Shirley or her family (pictured in April)
She praised Merseyside Police for being helpful but said the legal system makes it very difficult for charges to be brought, leaving victims feeling ‘trapped.’
She said it often feels like the law doesn’t step in to offer protection until someone has already been physically harmed.
So, all she could do was continue collecting the evidence and forwarding it on to the police.
In December 2023, Kyle was finally arrested and later charged with stalking. Initially, he pleaded not guilty – meaning Shirley, her mother, and loved ones faced giving evidence in court.
Shirley admitted that the idea of a trial and her family taking the stand caused her immense anxiety.
But in February 2025, Kyle changed his plea to guilty. On April 1, he was handed a 20-month suspended sentence and banned from contacting Shirley or any of her family again.
