London’s Burning and Grange Hill star John Alford’s trial on intercourse offence prices involving underage women is delayed
Former Grange Hill actor John Alford’s trial for alleged sexual offences against underage girls was delayed this morning.
The TV star, who has also starred in London’s Burning, was charged under his real name of John Shannon and is to be tried at St Alban’s Crown Court in Hertfordshire.
Alford, 53, of Holloway, north London, denies six charges – four of sexual activity with a child and two relating to a second female of sexual assault and assault by penetration.
The charges followed an investigation by Hertfordshire Constabulary’s specialist Sexual Offences Investigation Team into a report of offences allegedly committed in April 2022.
Glasgow-born Alford first starred as Robbie Wright in school drama Grange Hill when he was just 13 years old in 1985.
John Alford was set to appear at St Alban’s Crown Court today for the start of a seven-day trial
Alford was best known for his role as fireman Billy Ray in ITV firefighting drama London’s Burning
He landed the role after training at Anna Scher’s stage school in north London alongside Sid Owen and Patsy Palmer who starred in EastEnders, and briefly appeared in ITV sitcom Now and Then before joining Grange Hill.
However, he struggled with fame at a young age after leaving the school drama at 17, reportedly spending thousands of pounds on alcohol and gambling.
In 1999, he was reported to have confessed to drinking up to 18 bottles of beer and nine shots of spirits a night.
He later became a fan favourite when he played fireman Billy Ray in ITV drama London’s Burning from 1993 to 1998.
He got his start appearing as Robbie Wright in Grange Hill at the age of 13 – appearing on the anti-drugs single Just Say No
The father-of-two starred on the show at the height of its popularity when it pulled in more than 18million viewers a night.
The show became ITV’s third longest-running drama behind only Coronation Street and Emmerdale.
Alford also enjoyed several top 40 hit singles, produced by Stock/Waterman, following his TV success.
His debut song Smoke In Your Eyes reached No13 in the charts and saw him perform on Top Of The Pops.
He quit acting for a time, working as a scaffolder and a minicab driver, but returned to acting at the turn of the millenium.
Alford appeared in the film Mike Bassett: England Manager and reality programme Trust Me: I’m a Beauty Therapist in 2001 and 2003, before getting bit parts in Casualty and The Hatton Garden Job.
