John Alford, a British actor with a checkered history with the law, has died at the age of 54.
Alford, who starred in BBC kids soap Grange Hill and ITV fireman drama London’s Burning, died in prison after he was found guilty of sexually assaulting two teenage girls. Alford, who reverted back to his birthname John Shannon after his acting career, died in prison.
“John Shannon died in prison on 13 March 2026. As with all deaths in custody, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman will investigate,” a Prison Service spokesman told the BBC.
Alford was jailed in January for eight and a half years after being convicted of four counts of sexual activity with a 14-year old and charges of sexual assault and assault by penetration relating to a 15-year-old girl.
The incident took place in Hertfordshire, UK in 2022 and Alford stood trial at St Albans Crown Court in September.
It was not Alford’s first run in with the law; he was convicted of supplying drugs in 1999 and imprisoned for nine months after a sting by the News of the World and its controversial reporter Mazher Mahmood.
In 2006, he was convicted of drunk driving after a crash and in 2018, he plead guilty to two counts of resisting an officer and given a community order.
Alford broke through with his role in Grange Hill, a popular kids TV show that ran from 1978 to 2008. He played Robbie Wright.
He later scored a role as Billy Junfan Ray, a fireman in ITV drama London’s Burning, and starred in the show for five years. However, he was fired after his 1999 conviction.
He didn’t work much after with only a few small roles in films such as Mike Bassett: England Manager and The Hatton Garden Job, which also starred Matthew Goode, Larry Lamb and Joely Richardson. He also appeared on Channel 5 reality series Trust Me – I’m a Beauty Therapist in 2006.
