Actor John Alford has died in prison at the age of 54, just two months after being sentenced for sexually assaulting two teenage girls.
Alford, who was tried under his real name John Shannon, had been sentenced in January to eight and a half years in prison following his conviction. The assaults took place during a party at a friend’s home in Hertfordshire in 2022.
The actor, known for appearing in the television drama London’s Burning and the BBC series Grange Hill, died on March 13, 2026, at HMP Bure in Norfolk, according to the Prison Service.
During the trial, jurors heard that Alford assaulted two girls aged 14 and 15 while they were intoxicated after a night out at a pub. He was convicted of four counts of sexual activity with the 14-year-old, as well as charges of sexual assault and assault by penetration involving the 15-year-old.
A spokesperson for the Prison Service confirmed his death and said that, as with all deaths in custody, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman will conduct an investigation.