Disgraced actor, 54, found dead in prison cell two months into sentence
Disgraced actor, 54, found dead in prison cell two months into sentence
British actor John Alford, best known for his roles in “Grange Hill” and “London’s Burning,” has been found dead in prison.
The Prison Service confirmed to the BBC that Alford, whose real name was John Shannon, was found dead at HMP Bure in Norfolk on March 13, 2026.
“John Shannon died in prison on 13 March 2026,” a Prison Service spokesman said in a statement. “As with all deaths in custody, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman will investigate.”
A cause of death has not yet been released.
His death comes just two months after the 54-year-old began serving his eight and a half years in prison sentence for sexually assaulting two teenage girls. His sentence began on Jan. 14, 2026.
In September 2025, a jury at St. Albans Crown Court found him guilty of sexually assaulting the girls, who were 14 and 15 at the time of the offenses in April 2022.
Prosecutor Chris White told the jury that Alford “was fully aware of the girls’ ages, yet he chose to exploit them — giving them alcohol and then committing sexual offences against them.”
Alford was convicted of four counts of sexual activity with the younger girl and of sexual assault and assault by penetration on the older teenager.
He denied the offenses. When the jury delivered the guilty verdicts, he put his head in his hands and shouted, “Wrong, I didn’t do this,” according to the BBC.
The actor, who hails from Holloway in North London, gained prominence in the 1980s and 1990s, playing Robbie Wright in the children’s series “Grange Hill” from 1985 to 1989. In 1993, he joined the ITV drama “London’s Burning” as firefighter Billy Ray.
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Alford previously served nine months in prison in 1997 after being convicted of supplying cocaine and cannabis to an undercover journalist.
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