Strictly’s Shirley Ballas reveals she called police over stalker

Shirley Ballas has revealed her horrifying alleged stalker ordeal as she told of a man who ‘lunged at her and took photos of her house and car’.

The Strictly Come Dancing judge, 63, says she was forced to call the police over the scary series of incidents after being left fearful over her safety. 

Shirley claimed that the man’s phone and computer have now been confiscated by police as they investigate the claims.

Speaking on Mirror’s Invite Only podcast, Shirley said: ‘There was one particular person who was kind of stalking me. That is under investigation at the moment, as we speak. 

‘I know his computer and phone, everything has been confiscated. He was taking pictures of my house, he had my house, he had my car. So, yes, there have been times when I have been fearful.

‘I meet people and they really, the majority of people are fantastic, but then once or twice you’ll, they lunge…. this one particular person will lunge at me, and he really feels he knows me. He feels he knows me. But he only knows me from the TV. Or from following me on social media. And that’s quite alarming.

‘So, you know, I always have George, the guy who’s driven me for the last five years, get out of the car first, always scanning. 

‘I wouldn’t say it’s the healthiest thing. You know, 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.’

Shirley’s scary ordeal comes just as Gavin Plumb was convicted over his attempts to kidnap, rape and kill former This Morning host, Holly Willoughby.

Shirley told how she has changed how she is much more aware of her safety ever since Holly’s ordeal was made public. 

She said: ‘I am a very vigilant person. When I go out, I’m careful not to go alone. If it’s at night, I’m always a little bit nervous.

‘There’s what you read on social media, (and then) particularly with Holly – her experiences. So, yeah, I don’t take anything lightly. There are many amazing people, but there are a few strange people out there. It’s quite hard, and makes you always a little bit more precautious.

‘You’re upping your level of alarms. And (now) 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 percent, 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 that was walking me from the hotel to here, they checked in on me to make sure that I was ok. I just felt very well protected.’

Shirley’s interview comes as it was claimed she has been ordered by BBC bosse to ‘rein in’ her public support for Giovanni Pernice amid his misconduct claims.

Giovanni, 33, is at the centre of a bullying row after claims made of misconduct by his Strictly partner Amanda Abbington, 52, and two other women, which led to him quitting the show amid the scandal. 

 But Shirley, who serves as head judge on the show, has voiced support for the dancer, saying he is a ‘good friend’ to her and she will be ‘by his side’ forever.

However, according to The Mirror, bosses are not happy Shirley has been so vocal in her support for Giovanni because of the nature of the claims against him.

A source said: ‘Shirley has been told she needs to rein it in and not talk about Giovanni in the context of the case.’

‘It’s such a complex thing that we can’t have people associated with the show speaking out about it.’ 

Doubling down on her support on the podcast, she said: ‘All I can say is that we have got some of the best professionals in the world on our show. They’re caring, and they’re kind, and they’re loving, and they give all of themselves, because they are actually quite competitive as well.

‘They want the very best for their students, and they give absolutely everything that they can to the show. I’ve known Giovanni for 10 years, I can say that, and he’s been very, very good to me. Very, very good to me. I’m not a person that believes in gossip, I tend not to believe everything I read – because people have written things about me that are just not true.

So I don’t believe gossip, but, you know, the truth prevails. I can only talk about the experiences I’ve had, I don’t know other people’s. But my mum’s always been a huge fan (of his), and he’s always been good to my family.’