London's Burning actor John Alford dies in prison
Former London’s Burning actor John Alford dies in prison at 54, just months after being jailed for sexual assault. Authorities confirm investigation into the death.
Actor John Alford has died in prison. He was jailed two months ago on charges of sexually abusing two teenage girls.
The body of the 54-year-old former star of *Grange Hill* and *London's Burning* was found at HMP Bure prison in Norfolk.
Alford—whose real name was John Shannon—was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison after being found guilty of sexually abusing two teenage girls (aged 15 and 14).
"John Shannon died in prison on March 13, 2026. As with all deaths in custody, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman will investigate this matter."
Alford, a resident of Holloway in North London, was tried under his real name at St Albans Crown Court last September.
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The jury was told that the star had purchased a bottle of vodka for the two teenage girls, which they consumed at a friend's home in Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire, in April 2022.
He was found guilty of four counts of sexual activity with the younger girl, and of sexual assault and forced sexual intercourse with the older girl.
He was sent to prison two months ago, on January 14. At the time, Judge Caroline Overton stated that these crimes had a "profound and long-lasting impact" on the lives of the victims.
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However, he achieved his greatest recognition in 1993, when he joined the sixth season of the ITV drama *London's Burning*.
The popular show was based on members of the London Fire Brigade. In it, he played the character of firefighter Billy Ray—a role that boosted his popularity to such an extent that, by 1996, he had launched a career as a pop singer. However, in 1997, Alford was fired from the show and sentenced to nine months in prison after being found guilty of supplying cocaine and cannabis to an undercover journalist from the *News of the World*.
During the trial held in September, prosecutor Chris White told the jury: "John Shannon was fully aware of the girls' ages, yet he decided to take advantage of them—plying them with alcohol and then committing sexual offenses against them."
He had denied these offenses. When the verdict was delivered, he clutched his head in his hands and shouted, "This is wrong! I didn't do anything like that."
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