Cheryl Tweedy, the pop star and former X Factor judge, has endured a harrowing ordeal over the past 18 months, as a convicted killer and stalker repeatedly breached court orders to approach her Buckinghamshire home. On September 23, 2025, Daniel Bannister, 50, was sentenced at Reading Crown Court to 12 months in prison after he admitted to breaching a restraining order for the fourth time. The judge also imposed a new, indefinite restraining order, hoping to finally end the campaign of harassment that has left Cheryl and her young son Bear living in fear.
Bannister’s obsession with Cheryl began in January 2024, when he first turned up at her rural property, ringing the intercom and asking for her by name. According to court records cited by The Mirror, he was detained by a security guard and taken to a police station, but no charges followed at that stage. Undeterred, Bannister returned in July 2024, again ringing the intercom and this time saying, “Hi it’s Dan, I’m hoping to see Cheryl.” He was arrested, and in police interviews, he insisted he believed Cheryl wanted to see him. He pleaded guilty to stalking involving serious alarm or distress and was remanded in custody.
On September 13, 2024, Bannister was sentenced to four months in prison and handed a three-year restraining order, explicitly forbidding any contact with Cheryl or attendance at her home. Yet, after his release, Bannister’s whereabouts became unknown. The nightmare resumed in December 2024, when he turned up at Cheryl’s address again, pressing the intercom for four minutes. He was arrested and denied any intention to harm her, but messages found on his phone revealed a delusional belief that he was communicating with the singer.
After pleading guilty to three breaches of the restraining order, Bannister was sentenced in March 2025 to 16 weeks in jail and given a fresh, lifetime restraining order. The court order barred him from contacting Cheryl directly or indirectly, or attending any building where he believed she might be present. But the legal measures did little to deter him. On June 19, 2025, Bannister arrived at Cheryl’s home for a fourth time, this time in a taxi just before 10pm. He rang the intercom twice, peered over the gate, and waved at the CCTV camera before loitering outside. Cheryl, shaken, called a family member and then the police, who quickly tracked Bannister to his London address and arrested him.
During his latest court appearance, Bannister claimed he believed Cheryl had invited him via Microsoft Teams and through her security. Prosecutor Leandra Smith told the court, “He rang her intercom and did not get an answer. He left and returned a few minutes later and rang the intercom again. He also peered over her gate.” The judge, Alan Blake, was unequivocal in his condemnation: “You have shown little regard for Miss Tweedy’s welfare or for the orders the court has imposed.”
Cheryl’s victim impact statement, read to the court, was a powerful testament to the toll Bannister’s actions have taken. “When Daniel Bannister returned to my property on Thursday 19th June 2025, after his second stint in prison regarding the same issue, I was stunned,” she wrote. “Daniel has been sentenced twice now for this unwanted and scary behaviour towards me. Each time he returns I worry that his intentions have intensified, especially considering his previous offences. It’s clear that punishment didn’t deter him or make him understand that this type of behaviour is not ok or acceptable.”
She continued, “I am nervous and on edge every time I open the gate to my property. I feel constantly like I have to look over my shoulder everywhere I go. No person should have to feel this way when going about their day-to-day activities.” Cheryl also revealed the impact on her eight-year-old son Bear: “I have a young child to protect living at the address that Daniel continues to show up at… Daniel has also made my young child scared.” She described hiring extra security personnel and taking other protective measures to safeguard her family.
Judge Blake, in his sentencing remarks, emphasized the seriousness of Bannister’s repeated breaches. “Your previous conviction for manslaughter does not aggravate this sentence given its age and circumstances, but it is bound to increase the fear felt by the victim,” he said. Bannister’s history is indeed troubling: in 2012, he was jailed for 30 months for the manslaughter of Rajendra Patel, whom he fatally attacked at a south London YMCA shelter. The court noted that while Bannister’s psychiatric evaluations found no evidence of ongoing mental health concerns or delusional disorders, he continued to demonstrate “intimacy seeking” stalking behaviors and showed “little regard for the safety of Ms Tweedy and for Court orders.”
Despite repeated warnings and escalating penalties, Bannister’s behavior persisted. Judge Blake told him, “You have displayed contempt for the order of the court. You will learn that court orders are to be complied with. This is reduced by your guilty plea to 12 months imprisonment. This must be immediate imprisonment given your limited mitigation, the lack of prospect of rehabilitation, the poor compliance with court orders, the high risk of further offending and the fact that repeated breaches can only be met with immediate custody.”
The new restraining order imposed by the court is indefinite and includes strict terms preventing Bannister from contacting Cheryl directly or indirectly, including online or via social media. Judge Blake warned, “If you do, Mr Bannister, have any concern or care towards Ms Tweedy, then I suggest that you heed that message which she couldn’t give any more clearly to you in that victim impact statement. She does not wish any contact with you and you're causing her anxiety and terrifying her and her family.”
For Cheryl, the ordeal has been life-altering. She described feeling “violated, terrified and unsafe in her home,” and said the repeated incidents left her “nervous and on edge all the time.” The court heard that she immediately panicked and feared for her son’s safety whenever Bannister appeared outside her home, a sentiment echoed in her statements to both the police and the court. “I wish Daniel would stop this intrusive and alarming behaviour and get help with understanding this is completely unacceptable, terrifying and is having a detrimental impact,” Cheryl said.
While Bannister will serve up to half of his 12-month sentence in custody before being released on post-sentence supervision, the indefinite restraining order is meant to provide Cheryl and her family with lasting protection. As Judge Blake made clear, any further breaches could result in even longer jail terms, underscoring the gravity with which the courts now view stalking and harassment cases.
For now, Cheryl and her son are left to rebuild their sense of safety, hoping that this latest sentence will finally mark the end of Bannister’s disturbing campaign.
