John Alford Height, Age, Death, Biography

Some Lesser Known Facts About John Alford

• When John Alford was eleven years old, he was enrolled in Anna Scher’s stage school in London, where his friends were Sid Owen and Patsy Palmer.

• In 1982, on the television show ‘Not the Nine O’Clock News,’ he was featured in a song which was about a train driver who worked on the issues related to strikes.

• After that, John Alford played the role of a schoolboy in an episode of the television show One by One.

• From 1983 to 1984, he appeared in thirteen episodes of the children’s television show Now and Then, which aired on ITV.

• In 1985, John Alford started playing the role of Robbie Wright in the television show Grange Hill.

  

  John Alford (left) played Robbie Wright in Grange Hill, alongside George Christopher (right) who appeared as Ziggy Greaves

• After that, he appeared on the Grange Hill ‘Just Say No’ anti-drug single and an advertising campaign.

• John Alford then went on to appear in many television shows, such as Roll Over Beethoven (1985), The Chief (1991), The Bill (1990-2002), and Starting Out (1992).

• In 1993, he played the role of fireman Billy Ray in the television show London’s Burning for five years. The show was aired on ITV.

• In 1996, John Alford appeared in the music videos of his songs John Alford: If and John Alford: Blue Moon.

• Reportedly, he did not chart the songs.

• His first single song was “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes,” which reached No. 13 on the UK chart and stayed there for five weeks.

• The music videos of the song “Blue Moon”/”Only You” were a huge hit. After its release, it reached No. 9 on the UK chart and stayed there for four weeks.

  

  John Alford on the poster of the music video of the song Blue Moon

• The next single, “If”/”Keep on Running,” reached No. 24 on the UK chart and stayed there for three weeks.

• That same year, he was featured in the music video of the English song ‘The Sand Angels.’

• In March 1997, John Alford announced the release of his fourth single song titled “Let It Be Me,” but the release was halted.

• According to him, some finished copies of the song had “promotional use only” stickers on them.

• After that, his record label dropped him from their contract.

• In 1999, John Alford was charged with supplying cocaine and cannabis to an undercover news reporter named Mazher Mahmood, who worked for News of the World, a weekly national tabloid newspaper in the United Kingdom.

• During the court proceedings, he claimed that he was trapped in the case as news reporter Mazher Mahmood faced no punishment.

• John Alford was granted nine months’ imprisonment as punishment.

• After six weeks, he was released on bail and was ordered to tie electronic tag.

• During a court trial, John Alford stated that Mahmood pretended to be a well-known prince who could offer him big acting roles.

• After that, when he was convicted of supplying drugs, the makers of the television show London’s Burning fired him.

• In 2000, he appeared as Billy in the television show Black Cab.

• In 2001, John Alford appeared as Deano in the film Mike Bassett: England Manager.

• The following year, he appeared as John Bildon in the television show Real Crime.

• In 2003, John Alford played Dean in the television series Mile High, in which Dean was a drug-dealing and scheming flight attendant.

• Apart from television shows and films, he had also appeared in various reality shows.

• In 2005, John Alford appeared on the reality show Trust Me – I’m a Beauty Therapist. In the show, the celebrities trained and worked in a salon as hair stylists and beauty experts.

• In 2006, he played the role of a legal aid solicitor in the film Provoked.

• That same year, John Alford was arrested in a drink-driving case.

• Reportedly, in April 2005, he crashed his car into three vehicles and was banned for 16 months from driving, with a fine and other court expenses.

• In May 2009 and May 2010, John Alford appeared in the television show Casualty.

• In 2011, he appeared as Griz in the film Wounded.

• In 2014, in another case, when Tulisa’s trial collapsed, the judge claimed that there was strong evidence to believe that Mahmood lied under oath.

• After that, during a media interview, John Alford said that the conviction gave him suicidal thoughts. He said,
  

  No one can give me the 18 years I’ve lost; no one can give me that back. I hope this is the first day of a new life for me.”

• In 2017, he played the role of a prison guard in the crime film The Hatton Garden Job.

• After that, John Alford occasionally appeared in television shows and films.

• Reportedly, he then worked as a roofer, scaffolder, and mini-cab driver.

• John Alford shifted to Camden and started living there with his real name, John Shannon.

• He caused criminal damage to a Camden Council vehicle on 1 September 2018, in Holloway, London. He pleaded guilty to the crime on 1 October 2018 in Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court.

• After that, John Alford was granted bail, and his next trial was scheduled on 29 November 2018.

• On 29 January 2019, he was found guilty of resisting an officer twice. He was then ordered to serve his punishment in the community for 12 months.
  

  John Alford pictured in 2019

• In July 2024, John Alford was arrested for sexually assaulting two teenage girls.

• On 26 August 2025, during a court trial at the Saint Albans Crown Court, he denied all the charges against him. He said,
  

  I haven’t done this. No DNA. I didn’t touch them. I think science proves me not guilty.”

• On 5 September 2025, the court found him guilty of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and a 15-year-old girl. The prosecutor, Chris White, told the jury,
  

  John Shannon was fully aware of the girls’ ages, yet he chose to exploit them – giving them alcohol and then committing sexual offences against them.”

• The court claimed that the victims confirmed that they were assaulted at a house in Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire, in April 2022. After the court announced its verdict, John Alford cried from the dock,
  

  Wrong; I didn’t do this.”

• On 14 January 2026, he was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison.

• On 13 March 2026, John Alford passed away in his prison cell at HMP Bure, two months after he was sentenced to imprisonment for sexually assaulting two teenage girls.

• Soon after he was found dead, a prison service spokesman announced the news. He claimed that the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman would investigate the cause of death. Spokesman said,
  

  John Shannon died in prison on 13 March 2026. As with all deaths in custody, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman will investigate.”

• Reportedly, the prison staff tried to wake John Alford from sleep. After that, they realised he had passed away. Spokesman added,
  

  He didn’t wake up in the morning. He was in his bed and they thought he was just asleep. When they tried to wake him there was no response and they realized he was dead.”