A former Coronation Street actor was subjected to a terrifying hate campaign by his deluded younger brother after they fell out in a bitter family feud over money.
Stephen Banyard, who is in his 70s, and his 84-year old wife Barbara were sent death threats by TV paranormal researcher Gerald Banyard who wrongly claimed they owed him £200,000, a court heard.
In a sting of missives to the couple, Banyard, 71, branded Stephen, who is severely disabled following a stroke, an ‘evil narcissistic psychopathic bas***d’ and mocked him by linking his former stage name Tony Monroe to a comedy play called Tony Monroe is Dead.
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One message sent to the victim read: ”You’re one bad f***ing dude bro. Everyone knows – even the smoke f***ed nurses. You reap what you sow.”’
Another said: ”Pay the money back that you know you stole. The family will suffer if you don’t. This is your last warning.”
Barbara, who lives with her husband in a retirement flat in Hazel Grove, Stockport, was said to have been so frightened of her brother-in-law she would not venture to the shops.
Police called to investigate discovered Banyard, who has himself appeared on TV chat shows and documentaries to explain his fascination with UFOs, had previously been to jail after trying to frame an innocent man over the 2017 Westminster terror attack.
He had also been convicted of hounding a married woman over claims they had an affair after meeting while shooting a TV advert.
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At Minshull Street Crown Court, Gerald Banyard, of Farringdon Drive in Radcliffe, near Bury, admitted stalking his brother and sister-and-law and was jailed for 12 months. He is currently subject of a restraining order prohibiting him from contacting them.
According to his LinkedIn Page Banyard, who uses the name ‘Gerry’, claimed to have attended acting school in Guildford and worked as a freelance screenwriter before appearing as an extra in the 80s sitcom The Brothers McGregor as a professional gambler.
He came to public attention in the 1990s after he appeared on Clive Anderson’s Talk Back show on Channel 4 during which he claimed he knew of ’70 species of alien’ who were ‘impregnating women on planet Earth’ to create a new ‘hybrid’ race.
Meanwhile Stephen appeared in four different roles on Coronation Street between 1980 and 2003 including as a former cellmate of Les Battersby. He also had bit part roles in various TV dramas including Heartbeat, Holby City and The Royal.
Hate campaign started against brother
The court heard Banyard’s hate campaign against his brother arose out of £50,000 in cash which was seized from him during his arrest at a hotel in Glasgow over the Westminster Bridge plot.
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He had falsely claimed the money had belonged to his sister-in law but she refused to go along with his explanation. It is thought the cash was then confiscated and Banyard began sending death threats to his brother.
In August 2023, Banyard was jailed for eight weeks and made subject of a restraining order but he then intensified his campaign against the couple when he was released.
In May last year he sent an email to a manager at the retirement housing complex where his brother and sister in law live to falsely claim they had ‘stolen’ £200,000 from him.
He branded both ‘narcissistic, psychopathic evil people’ and said prison inmates he had spent time with behind bars ‘knew where they lived’, adding: ”The Karmic wheels have been put in motion.”
He also referred to the play ”Tony Monroe is Dead” – a comedy production about a wedding celebration – in a sinister attempt to mock his brother’s stage name. The manager passed the message onto Mr and Mrs Banyard and police were alerted.
The couple gave a statement and later went on holiday to the Lake District but Banyard sent sent a further email to the house manager saying he had ‘begun legal proceedings’ to recover £50,000 from the couple and sent threatening letters using a stencil referring to Mrs Banyard’s 13-year old granddaughter.
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Mrs Banyard herself subsequently received an anonymous card with a message on the inside in her brother-in-law’s handwriting which falsely said her granddaughter was dead. Banyard was arrested on May 25 last year and police seized a number of letters from his home. He made no comment in police interview.
Craig MacGregor, prosecuting, said: ”Mrs Banyard is 84 year old and she says she does not need the stress this episode has placed on her. Her husband is unwell and she is now prevented from going to the shops for fear her brother in law knows where they live.”
The court heard Banyard had a ‘history of significant mental health problems’. He is expected to be released from jail due to the nine months he had already served on remand whilst awaiting trial.
Sentencing, Judge Jenny Lester-Ashworth told him: ‘I have read the victim personal statement and your continued conduct towards these elderly victims has caused them significant distress at a time in their lives when they are less able to cope.
”They feared you would inflict violence upon them. It was very serious and persistent conduct. The victims were particularly vulnerable due to their age and health conditions.”
Previous convictions
In 2002, Gerald Banyard was convicted of harassment and given unpaid work after he hounded a happily married woman falsely, claiming they had a fling. Tapes and letters detailing alleged affairs were sent to the the woman and her husband.
In 2019 he was arrested again after he fed police falsified information about his landlady’s boyfriend with whom he had been feuding over a faulty boiler.
He wrongly claimed the man had been an accomplice to Khalid Masood, who killed four people on Westminster Bridge, stabbed PC Keith Palmer to death outside the House of Parliament and injured 50 other people, before being shot dead by police in the first UK terror attack claimed by ISIS.
During the revenge scam Banyard, then living in Eastbourne with his late father, sent a package to Brighton police station which claimed to be from an American tourist who had found a suspicious note in his hotel room which read ‘Khalid, stick a cop for the old days’, and signed as the name of his landlady’s boyfriend and giving his mobile phone number.
Up to 260 police hours were wasted as a result of the lies and Banyard was subsequently jailed for three years for perverting the course of justice with a judge at the time branding ‘truly devious and manipulative man’.
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