John Alford (actor): Difference between revisions

John Alford (born John Shannon 30 October, 1971 in Glasgow) is a Scottish-born English actor.

Career

Alford attend stage school from age in London, alongside future EastEnders stars Patsy Palmer and Sid Owen. He appeared in ITV sitcom Now and Then, before landing the role of Robbie Wright in 1978 in Grange Hill. Alford featured on the Grange Hill "Just Say No" anti-drug single. In 1980, he appeared in Not The Nine O Clock News, joining in a song about a strike-breaking train driver. Prior to his solo singing career,

In 1988, he took his most famous adult role as fireman Billy Ray in ITV's London's Burning. In 1996 this lead to a short lived singing career during which he released a self-titled album. His first release was Smoke Gets In Your Eyes which reached number 13 and stayed in the UK chart for 5 weeks. His highest hit was Blue Moon/ Only You which reached number 9 in the UK charts and stayed charts for 4 weeks. His last release was If/ Keep on Running which got to number 24 and stayed in the UK chart for 3 weeks.

In December 1996, just before he was due to appear in pantomime in Sunderland, Alford collapsed and was taken to hospital in Newcastle suffering from a rare blood disorder. His career was disrupted in 1999 after being convicted of supplying drugs to an undercover tabloid newspaper reporter. Released early under an electronic tag, he found work hard to come by, and became a roofer.

In 2001, he gained a role in the film Mike Bassett: England Manager. In 2003 he played the part of drug-dealing and scheming flight attendant, Dean, in Mile High.

In 2005, Alford appeared in the Reality TV show Trust Me...I'm A Beauty Therapist, where celebrities trained and worked in a salon doing Hair and Beauty. He has since appeared twice in Casualty, in May 2009 and May 2010.

Personal life

Alford found early fame hard to handle, and in later interviews reported that by the age of 17 he had spent up to £80,000 on alcohol and gambling.

In 1999 he was convicted of supplying drugs to the News of the World undercover reporter Mazher Mahmood, and subsequently jailed for nine months.^[1] During his trial, Alford said in his defence that he was set up, and complained that Mahmood was not punished for this. He was released after six weeks after agreeing to electronic tagging.^[2]

In January 2006 Alford was found guilty of drunk driving and subsequently banned from driving for sixteen months. Magistrates ordered him to pay a £150 fine and £100 costs.^[3]

References

External links

• John Alford at IMDb