Girls Aloud singer Cheryl Tweedy has secretly endured being stalked by convicted killer, Daniel Bannister, while mourning the tragic death of her ex-boyfriend Liam Payne

Still grieving over the death of ex Liam Payne, Cheryl has been rocked by a fresh nightmare after being stalked by a convicted killer.

The Girls Aloud singer, 41, has endured immense heartbreak in recent months, with the tragic death of the father of her child, One Direction singer Liam. Adding to her agony, she has secretly been terrorised by a stalker.

Daniel Bannister, who was convicted of killing a man, became “fixated” on the star. Bannister, 49, of no fixed address, was jailed for 30 months in 2012 for the manslaughter of his neighbour, Rajendra Patel, at a homeless hostel in Croydon. He was jailed again in September for four months after being found to be “displaying fixated, obsessive, unwanted and repetitive behaviour” towards Cheryl, and causing her “serious alarm”.

The Girls Aloud singer attended Liam’s funeral on November 20 ( 
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Convicted killed Daniel Bannister turned up at her address on December 10 ( 
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Instagram/Cheryl Tweedy)
Bannister was given a three-year restraining order and banned from contacting Cheryl, entering Buckinghamshire, or attending her address. But on December 10, just weeks after Liam’s funeral, he returned to the home she shares with her seven-year-old son, Bear. He was charged with breaching his restraining order after reportedly turning up at an address where he “knew or believed Cheryl Tweedy was present”.

Bannister also attempted to contact the Fight For This Love singer, either directly or indirectly, which he had previously been banned from doing. He pleaded guilty to the three separate offences in December and has now been sent to prison before being sentenced on January 30, The Sun reports.

In 2012, Bannister pleaded guilty to manslaughter at Kingston Crown Court after assaulting Rajendra Patel, at a south London YMCA homeless shelter. After an attack in February of the same year, Mr Patel returned to hospital on March 9. He tragically died just one day later. His cause of death was ruled as a fracture to his left ankle, pulmonary thromboembolism and deep vein thrombosis of the left thermeral vein.

Bannister, who at the time was 37, had been due to go on trial for the murder of Mr Patel – but the CPS lowered the charge to manslaughter. It’s believed that the two individuals who had been living at the homeless shelter had been in a long-term feud with one another when the attack took place. CCTV footage was shown, showing Bannister kicking and punching his victim as he attempted to go towards a lift.

Speaking in 2012, His Honour Judge Nicholas Price said as he jailed Bannister: “This is a tragic case. When you attacked Mr Patel you did not intend to cause serious bodily harm let alone cause death. But the attack undoubtedly goes beyond one punch, it is a sustained attack or more or less 30 to 40 seconds. It is clear you are not a danger to the public, but it is inevitable that you must serve an immediate custodial sentence.”

Cheryl’s team was said to be on ‘red alert’ during her stint of 2:22 A Ghost Story ( 
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Dave Benett/Getty Images)

Cheryl begged for kindness after ex Liam’s passing and shared her heartbreak ( 
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Getty Images for Chopard)
While dealing with her terrifying stalking ordeal, Cheryl has been putting on a brave face for her son, Bear, who devastatingly lost his father to a fatal fall from a third-floor balcony on October 16. And unbeknown to the public, just months before her ex Liam’s Payne’s sudden death, in March 2023, Cheryl reportedly increased her personal security to protect herself from a stalker ordeal.

During her stint in the West End production of 2:22 A Ghost Story, her team were said to be on “red alert” after she was sent ‘disgusting’ messages with flowers from outside the theatre. But it didn’t stop Cheryl from continuing to work, and she joined her bandmates to perform on tour in May and June across the country.

It’s not the first time the singer has been targeted by stalkers, as one bombarded her with “nasty” messages in 2019. She was forced to step up security in at the time after she received a spree of terrifying notes and said the stalker made her life hell.

She previously told The Sun On Sunday: “I’ve had the same person constantly sending me weird messages, and nasty things said. I have security now for big things as you just never know. Obviously fame isn’t always perfect.”

The Fight For This Love singer continued to go on tour in May and June 2024 ( 
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David Fisher/REX/Shutterstock)
Liam, Cheryl’s ex and father to their son Bear, plunged to his death at the Casa Sur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina in October. His body was found on an internal patio and it was initially reported he suffered “severe injuries which were incompatible with life”. On Wednesday, Liam’s medical cause of death was confirmed as polytrauma by Dr Roberto Victor Cohen at a UK inquest. The term is used to describe multiple injuries that affect multiple organ systems.

Following Liam’s passing, Cheryl took to Instagram to post an unseen picture of him and Bear and made an emotional statement regarding the tragedy. She begged for some kindness and respect to be shown for Liam as she highlighted the harsh reality that both she and Bear face. She said: “Liam was not only a pop star and celebrity; he was a son, a brother, an uncle, a dear friend and a father to our seven-year-old son. A son that now has to face the reality of never seeing his father again.”