Gavin Eyles was sentenced this week to 32 months in jail after his controlling behaviour towards a partner.
However the sentence imposed at Gloucester Crown Court means he will soon be free after having already served his time in custody on remand.
The actor with a foot fetish had ordered his girlfriend to wear socks at all times, even when she was in the bath, during their ‘kinky’ relationship which lasted 18 months.
Mr Eyles, who had appeared in Muppets 2, pleaded guilty to two offences of using controlling and coercive behaviour towards the woman between March 2019 and August 2021.
Gavin Eyles
Gloucestershire Police
He further admitted stalking the woman between August 19, 2020 and September 19, 2021, causing her serious alarm or distress.
David Maunder, prosecuting, said Mr Eyles would tell her, and others, that she was mentally ill as part of his control of her affairs.
It was reported that on one occasion he hid inside a wardrobe as part of his stalking campaign and during his time in prison he barraged his victim with over 100 phone calls.
Prosecutor Maunder said Eyles and the woman had met on social media in March 2019 and he admitted to her that he had previously been convicted in 2008 of causing a former partner actual bodily harm by cutting off her hair as she slept.
“He stopped her from seeing her friends she had known since school. He made her feel guilty about seeing her own family. He began monitoring the use of her mobile phone.
“He also dictated to her what clothing she could wear - 'nothing too revealing,' he would state. He would tell her he didn’t want her looking like a drag queen.
“He told her she was stupid and uneducated. He would force her to indulge in certain fetishes”, said David Maunder prosecuting.
At that point in the hearing, Eyles appeared to scream out that he had heard enough before storming out of the dock in a huff to go back to the cells.
After returning to the dock, Judge Ian Lawrie QC slamed him and said “this is a courtroom not a film set.”
“On August 22, the woman went out with friends for the first time since the pandemic started and got drunk. She accidentally sent a message to Eyles.
“She stayed with a friend that night and when she returned home the following day they searched her house and it appeared empty. However, a glass pane fell out of the door window, which made them search again.
“The woman found Eyles’ knees sticking out at the bottom of her wardrobe. She states that at that moment she was the most scared that she had ever been in her life.
“She fled the house screaming and went to a neighbour’s property. On returning with the neighbour she found that Eyles had made himself a drink and had disturbed things around the house. He also left her a note which stated he loved her and had been since the start of the relationship.
“Eyles had written or scratched ‘Gavin’ in a number of places around the house, including her make-up stool.”
The court was told that Eyles was arrested on August 27 and given bail conditions not to contact his victim and not to enter Gloucestershire but he then began a protracted harassment campaign.
"She began receiving silent calls. She could hear romantic songs being played down the line, songs that she and Eyles had talked about using for their future wedding," said Mr Maunder.
“Eyles was re-arrested on September 18 and suggested that she had mental health issues and had made the allegations up.
“He was remanded by Cheltenham magistrates the following day. However, he started phoning her from prison on February 2, 2021 and she heard him sobbing and saying he was sorry. He played Jennifer Lopez’s 'Baby I love You' down the phone to her”, the prosecutor said.
Judge Lawrie told Eyles: “A lot of your offending over the past few years is extremely disturbing. Whatever interpretation you put on it, to me it is sinister.
"Your offending has caused considerable emotional and psychological distress to the woman over a long period of time. You appear blind to the harm and stress you caused her.