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With the release of her potent new memoir Best Foot Forward, Shirley Ballas opens up to the Mirror about her stalking nightmare.

After a seven-year stalking campaign, Shirley Ballas admitted: “I will never feel completely safe again.

The Strictly Come Dancing Judge, 64, opened up about her ordeal at hands of Kyle Shaw, 37, who was handed a suspended 20-month prison term, in April.

Talking to the Sunday Mirror about the lasting mental impact, Shirley admits: “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 first made the revelations in her new memoir Best Foot Forward, including confronting and following her aging mother Audrey in the supermarket.

She claims, “I spent sleepless nights worrying about what he was going to do because I didn’t feel safe in my own home.” Would he open the letterbox to make a bomb? or attempt to ignite the home? I installed smoke detectors everywhere. What else could he have done to frighten the living daylights out of my family after he showed that he was prepared to follow a young woman round the supermarket?

The nightmare began when Shirley joined the Strictly panel as the new Head Judge for the 15th series of the show in 2017, replacing the outgoing Len Goodman. Shaw sent messages to her social media account claiming to be the biological son of her late brother David, who took his own life aged 44, in 2003.

READ MORE: Shirley Ballas breaks silence on toyboy’s devastating vanishing act and red flags she ignored

Initial impressions of him and her team were skewed, but the messages grew more graphic and obtrusive.

“He was soon hounding me through every channel possible. Via Facebook Messenger, Twitter and Instagram, he was demanding a DNA test and accusing me of killing David,” she writes.

Just a reminder, my dad is dead because you left him alone, according to one eerie message. He has passed away. You killed him. You killed him, he. You did this, too. Why did you leave my father to pass away?

Shaw was instructed not to contact Shirley again after Shirley called the police. The warning, however, was ineffective.

She writes, “He started bombarding other members of my family, including my elderly mother, and he continued to harass and assault me.” He would go out with my friends and write the worst messages in a language I can’t even remember.

Shirley was forced to take drastic measures including installing CCTV and an extra alarm system at her house. She stopped using public transport altogether. The BBC also gave her additional security in and around the studio and on the Strictly tour. The abuse always started around August when publicity for the latest series of the dance show began.

He had instructed me to look over my shoulder and that he would always be nearby, she says. You ruined my life, I ruined yours and everyone’s lives, he wrote in a message on his social media account that read, “You ruined my life, I ruined yours, everyone’s around you.” He sent me a slew of messages promising to appear at one of the dates on the promotional tour when my debut novel was due out in 2023. Shirley, I’ll be there. I’ll attend the event. I’ll be nearby and waiting for you. What should have been a joyful time of my life, celebrating the publication of a book of my own, turned out to be a truly agonizing experience.

At one point Shaw managed to get hold of her former partner Danny Taylor’s number and told him how he knew where they both lived, and described their recent movements.

She explains that the “final straw” was when he confronted my mother in Liscard after walking her through the supermarket, which was an incredibly terrifying experience for a woman in her eighties. She moved her mother into her London home as a result.

Shirley claimed she had a frustrating experience despite maintaining regular contact with the police.

She writes: “Merseyside Police were helpful but the system makes it very difficult for charges to be brought, which leaves victims trapped. It’s as if you have to come to physical harm before the law steps in to protect you. All I could do was gather the correspondence and keep passing it on to the police.”

More than six years after the initial message, Shaw was detained and later accused of stalking.

Shaw, however, entered a not-guilty plea during the preliminary court hearings.

She writes, “It appeared to me that the case was going to be decided at trial,” and I would have to provide evidence. That made me incredibly anxious at the thought. Additionally, my mother would have required the testimony of witnesses’ friends and family.

However in February 2025, he changed his plea to guilty and was handed a 20-month suspended sentence on April 1. He was also banned from contacting Shirley or any of her family again.

She states, “I had no desire to see the boy go to jail because I was satisfied that justice had been done.” He needs assistance from a very troubled individual, not incarcerated. A damaged person’s life had been hampered by homelessness, drug abuse, and mental illness, according to the psychiatric report. I only hope that he continues to receive the rehabilitation support he needs.

She described how the ordeal had altered her life forever in her witness statement.

She wrote, “He’s taken my peace of mind away from me, and I don’t think I’ll ever fully recover it.” I’ll never again feel secure. But I’m relieved that it’s over and that everyone can move on. I’ve been lifted, but I’m still standing, beaten, and battered once more. Once more, I had the internal resolve to keep marching on no matter what.

Shirley told the Sunday Mirror that she was relieved that the situation had ended, but that she was sad about how it had affected her family, particularly her mother.

She claims that the messages he sent to this young, illiterate woman were difficult to understand.

I’m constantly looking over my shoulder as I don’t believe I’ve ever taken a train since then. I never leave the park after six o’clock. Never do ear plugs in while I’m walking anywhere.

Lorraine Stanley, the former EastEnders star, enjoyed her spa honeymoon at Champneys with new husband Mark Perez as though she didn’t care.

Former EastEnders star Lorraine Stanley could not hide the joy on her face as she posted a series of loved up pictures of her and new husband Mark Perez, while on honeymoon. The actress who starred in the BBC soap between 2017 and 2024, tied the knot with her long-term partner in an intimate wedding ceremony in Harpenden, Hertfordshire last week.

The couple made their first trip to wed bliss at Champneys Resort just two days later.

Fans can be seen kissing each other affectionately in one image, but in another she is seen posing with red heart-shaped balloons on her bed.

Lorraine appeared to be content while stretched out on her hotel bed. She wrote, “My favorite place is @champneysspas,” as the caption to her post.

Lorraine wore a layered wedding dress, which evoked elegance last week. Her new slimline figure was revealed in her off-the-should gown.

Lorraine was seen clutching her bouquet of flowers as she enjoyed a flute of champagne as she sauntered her way through the crowd, which boasted of a few of her former co-stars.

18 months after leaving the well-known soap, the actress became Mrs. Perez. After 12 years of dating, their daughter, age 10, assumed the role of their flower girl. Nancy looked stunning with flowers in her hair while wearing a pale pink gown.

As Lorraine admitted to being “immune” to jabs earlier this year, she admitted to going under the knife to lose weight. Lorraine revealed every aspect of her weight-loss journey in a recent interview. Speaking to the New! She stated in a statement in the magazine that she had the procedure done at a London clinic. It is undoubtedly my best and most appreciated action to date for both my family and myself.

The actress reportedly used the weight-loss supplement Wegovy but felt like she had lost all of her weight. She continued, “It got to the point where I was eating and injecting myself at the same time.”

This comes after Lorraine revealed her slimmer figure to fans on social media. And she quickly received a lot of praise.

Taking to Instagram, she said: “What a difference a year makes. Five stone down, feeling good, clean living, healthy choices, new me, healthy mummy.”

She claimed in a statement to Woman’s Own magazine that Louise is her “guru” for fitness. She deserves my gratitude for it. I’ve consumed a lot of boiled eggs, fish, chicken, and other foods without any carbs, crisps, or chocolate.

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