Ex-girlfriend spared jail for bizarre abuse campaign against Hollyoaks and EastEnders actor

See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Published: 12:26 EDT, 26 August 2026 | Updated: 12:41 EDT, 26 August 2026 A former girlfriend of soap actor David Kennedy escaped a prison sentence after a bizarre campaign of abuse against him.Lindsay Cullen, 45, repeatedly threatened to ‘expose’ the star by forwarding sexual pictures and private messages to friends, colleagues and even a newspaper, a court heard.She was already on bail for harassment when she committed even more offences which left former Hollyoaks and EastEnders actor Mr Kennedy, 62, fearing for his career if she went ahead with her threats.Sarah McInerney, prosecuting, told Liverpool Magistrates’ Court this afternoon that the actor and Cullen had been in an on-off relationship for several years.Ms McInerney said: ‘She was jealous of other women in his life, people he worked with and knew, and that is why she threatened to expose sexual information about him.’She said she made repeated phone calls and left voicemails for the actor including one that lasted 47 minutes and one day alone she rang him 61 times.Ms McInerney added: ‘Many of them were drunken ramblings where she threatened to expose private messages and pictures.‘The victim faced a barrage of abuse in which she said she would make his life hell while she also threatened to kill herself. Lindsay Cullen, 45, left actor David Kennedy with 'stress and anxiety' about what she would do‘Although he says he is not frightened of her physically she has left him suffering from stress and anxiety and living in fear of what she might do next.’In a personal statement Mr Kennedy – who played the Hollyoaks character Dirk Savage between 2011 and 2018 and was not in court – said: ‘She has caused me unimaginable stress thinking my career was at risk because of her.‘I need something in place that will ensure she will not be able to continue.’Mr Kennedy also appeared briefly in BBC soap EastEnders as Dave Roberts in 2002 and was also in a string of television shows including Ashes to Ashes, Trial & Retribution, The Bill, London's Burning and Holby City. David Kennedy pictured in character as Dirk Savage in soap Hollyoaks in 2014Cullen, of Liverpool, pleaded guilty to two breaches of a non-molestation order, two charges of stalking and one charge of harassment.All the offences took place in April and May this year, the court was told.Katie Bennett, defending, said her client had spent the last three weeks in prison on remand for abusing bail conditions set after her first appearance on harassment charges.Ms Bennett said: ‘She realises in hindsight her behaviour was wrong but they were empty threats and caused by alcohol which she had been using as a coping mechanism.‘Her three weeks in custody have been a massive wake up call. 'Custody has given her a chance to reflect and she wants to put this behind her and move on with her life.’Judge James Clarke said Cullen’s offences would have justified a prison sentence.Imposing an 18-month community order, he told her: ‘These were particularly nasty and rambling messages.’Cullen was also given a nine-month alcohol treatment order, a five-year restraining order which included banning her from anywhere near his home, a three-month tagging order to monitor her movements. She must also pay £199 costs.