London's Burning actor John Alford found dead in prison two months after being jailed for sexual assault

London's Burning actor John Alford has died in prison two months after he was jailed for sexual assault.

The 54-year-old was given an eight-and-a-half year sentence in January, having last year been found guilty of sexually assaulting two teenage girls in 2022.

Alford, real name John Shannon, rose to fame in the BBC's Grange Hill, before starring as Billy Ray in ITV's firefighter drama London's Burning in the 1990s.

A prison service spokesperson said: "John Shannon died in prison on 13 March 2026. As with all deaths in custody, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman will investigate."

Shannon attacked the two girls, aged 14 and 15, while they were drunk after a night out at a pub in April 2022.

The trial heard he had intercourse with the 14-year-old and inappropriately touched the older girl while she was half asleep on a sofa.

The 15-year-old said she felt "absolutely sick" and planned to keep it a secret but had a "mental breakdown" to her friend's mother days later.

All of the offences happened at the home of a third girl, whose father was friends with Alford.

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The actor was found guilty at St Albans Crown Court in September last year. When the verdicts were read out, he put his head in his hands, shouting "wrong, I didn't do this".

Chris White, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said the disgraced star was "fully aware of the girls' ages, yet he chose to exploit them".

(c) Sky News 2026: London's Burning actor John Alford found dead in prison two months after being jailed for sexual assault