Image of John Alford

John Alford

The Glasgow-born actor was cast in Grange Hill after attending a London stage school from the age of nine where he studied alongside EastEnders' stars Patsy Palmer and Sid Owen. After appearing briefly in an ITV sitcom called Now and Then (1983), Alford landed the role in Grange Hill (1978) at the age of 11. But the young actor found fame too tough to handle and started drinking heavily. By the time he left the show at the age of 17 he had reportedly spent up to £80,000 on alcohol and gambling. John, most famous for his role of young fireman Billy in the hit TV series, London's Burning (1988), became an overnight pop star with reggae version of the song "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" which went into the UK charts at number 13 in 1996. In December of that year, 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. In May 1999, he was jailed for nine months for supplying drugs to an undercover Journalist. After the drug charges and sentence John found TV work extremely difficult to find and became a roofer. The following year he appeared in Mike Bassett: England Manager (2001), playing the part of Deano.


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Born:
Oct 30, 1971 In Glasgow, Scotland, UK
Movie/TV Credits:
8
First Appeared:
In the series Grange Hill 1978-02-08
Latest Project:
Movie Mondo Hollywoodland 2021-08-03
Known For
Poster of Mondo Hollywoodland
Poster of The Hatton Garden Job
Poster of Noel's Christmas Presents
Poster of Grange Hill
Filmography
Movie Mondo Hollywoodland Shlemko's Number One 2021-08-03
Movie The Hatton Garden Job Prison Warder 2017-04-14
Movie Mike Bassett: England Manager Deano 2001-09-28
Series Going Live! Self 1987-09-26
Series Noel's Christmas Presents Unknown 1986-12-25
Series Casualty Taxi Driver 1986-09-06
Movie Henry VI Part 1 Master Gunner's Boy 1983-01-02
Series Grange Hill Robbie Wright 1978-02-08