Shaw was married three times and had ten children, one of whom was adopted. His first wife was Jennifer Bourke (1952-63) with he had four daughters. His second wife was the actress Mary Ure (1963-75) with he had two sons and two daughters; this marriage ended with her death from an overdose. His third and last wife was Virginia Jansen (1976-78) with he had one son and adopted Jansen's son from a previous relationship. One of Shaw's sons by Mary Ure is the actor Ian Shaw.