Disgraced former British TV actor John Alford dies in prison, two months after being convicted of murder sexual assault two teenage girls.
The 54-year-old former actor from Grange Hill and London’s Burning was found dead at HMP Bure norfolk.
Alford, whose real name is John Shannon, was convicted of sexually assaulting two teenagers, ages 15 and 14, and sentenced to 8.5 years in prison.
“John Shannon died in prison on March 13, 2026. As with all deaths in custody, an investigation will be carried out by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman,” the BBC quoted a Prison Service spokesman as saying.
Prison staff tried to wake Alford from his sleep before realizing the actor had died.
“He didn’t wake up in the morning. He was in bed and they thought he just fell asleep,” a source told The Sun. “When they tried to wake him, nothing happened and they realized he was dead.”
Who is John Alford?
Alford, of Holloway, will stand trial under his real name at St Albans Crown Court in September 2025.
The jury heard the celebrity bought a bottle of vodka for two teenage girls, who drank it at a friend’s house in Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire, in April 2022.
He was found guilty of four counts of sexual intercourse with a younger girl, as well as sexual assault and penetrative assault on an older girl.
He was jailed two months ago on January 14, with Recorder Caroline Overton saying the offenses had had a “significant and ongoing impact” on the victim’s life.
In 1985, he became a part of the beloved BBC children’s drama Grange Hill, playing rebellious first-year student Robbie Wright, a role he starred in until 1989.
However, his most recognized role came in 1993, when he joined the cast of the sixth series of the ITV drama London Burning.
His performance as firefighter Billy Ray in the popular series about members of the London Fire Brigade greatly elevated his public profile and launched his pop career in 1996.
However, Alford was fired from the series and sentenced to nine months in prison in 1997 after being found guilty of supplying cocaine and cannabis to an undercover News of the World reporter.
“John Shannon was fully aware of the ages of these girls, yet he chose to take advantage of them – give them alcohol and then commit sexual offenses against them,” prosecutor Chris White told the judge at the trial in September.
He refuted the charges and after the verdict was handed down, he put his head in his hands and exclaimed: “That’s wrong, I didn’t do that.”
