Stalker targets BBC actress and her sister with racist, sexualised abuse leaving them 'fearful and isolated'

A star of BBC series Shetland and her sister were left terrified and isolated by a stalker who bombarded them with 'disgusting' sexualised and racist messages.

Scottish actress Eubha Akilade, 28, and her writer and director sibling Eilidh, who are of Nigerian descent, were sent the vile material by 57-year-old Gary Summers.

Eubha became the focus of his attention first, receiving emails that claimed 'as a mixed race woman, you will have less virtue than say a typical white woman'.

He went on to say that she would be treated as a 'second class citizen' due to her racial background and suggested her mother would regret bringing her and her sister into the world.

One of Summers' messages to Eilidh described how he had seen an interview with her on YouTube which was 'one of the most arousing and blissful experiences of my life'.

He was arrested after discovering that Eubha, who established herself with roles in the CBBC series Eve in 2015 and Hulu's Find Me in Paris in 2018 before joining the cast of crime drama Shetland in 2022, lived in London and began stalking her in person before posting her a parcel with a handwritten note.

DNA and CCTV footage linked him to the delivery and he was arrested and charged with two counts of racially aggravated stalking that caused serious alarm or distress between January 2024 and October last year.

The defendant, of Bungay in Suffolk, walked with the help of a stick when he appeared at Ipswich Crown Court on Friday to be sentenced after admitting the offences.

He hung his head and nodded as Recorder Jeremy Benson KC told him his messages had been 'thoroughly disgusting' and 'revolting', adding: 'You should be thoroughly ashamed of yourself.'

Summers was given a 30-month jail term, suspended for two years.

In her victim impact statement, Eubha, a trained dancer who also directs, described the effect the defendant's obsession had had on her.

'His voice became part of my internal monologue, which really impacted my self-esteem,' she said.

Explaining how she had started to avoid going out and posting material on social media, which is important to her career, she added: 'My world became increasingly small.'

The court heard that the parcel Summers sent to Eubha contained a T-shirt with a slogan that read 'We stand with Israel' and a handwritten note signed off with 'kind regards'.

The defendant was also fined £2,500 and ordered to pay £1,000 in court costs and a statutory charge, making a total of £3,687.

He was banned from contacting either of his victims unless directed otherwise by the court.

Eubha has also appeared in episodes of BBC soaps Doctors and Casualty.

Her sister describes herself on her website as a 'writer, editor and arts worker from and based in Glasgow'.