DISGRACED actor John Alford’s cause of death has been revealed after he was found dead in his prison cell just weeks after being caged for sexually abusing two young girls.
Alford, 54, made his mark on BBC school drama Grange Hill in the 1980s and found fame as fireman Billy Ray in London’s Burning in the 1990s before his fall from grace.
The provisional cause of death for Alford has now been publicly recorded as ischaemic heart disease following an inquest opening.
It means that the convicted paedophile suffered either a heart attack, a fatal arrhythmia or sudden cardiac death.
The disease stops the heart getting enough oxygen rich blood because the arteries have become narrowed or blocked.
Alford was sentenced in January to eight years and six months in prison after being convicted of sexually assaulting two teenage girls.
The disgraced actor died less than three months into the sentence on March 13 this year.
He was unresponsive on his bed when staff opened his cell door in March at Category C HMP Bure near Norwich and medics were called.
A full investigation is now required to establish the circumstances surrounding his death.
The opening hearing lasted only a few minutes before the coroner adjourned proceedings to allow further inquiries and reports to be completed.
A full inquest is due to be held at the court on September 11 at 10am.
Further evidence concerning the circumstances of the disgraced star’s death is expected to be heard when the inquest resumes.
Glasgow-born Alford got his big break after training at The Anna Scher Theatre stage school in North London alongside EastEnders stars Sid Owen and Patsy Palmer.
He landed the role of rebel Robbie Wright on BBC’s Grange Hill when he was 13, starring alongside Simone Hyams and George Christopher.
Up to eight million watched the show and Alford was part of the cast involved in its anti-drugs campaign, singing with others in its widely-played single “Just Say No”.
Towards the end of his Grange Hill stint, Alford later admitted he was drinking up to 18 bottles of beer and nine spirits shots a night.
But he went on to earn a new army of fans as fireman Ray in London’s Burning from 1993 to 1998.
It drew audiences of 18million on Sundays and was ITV’s longest-running drama behind Corrie and Emmerdale.
Father-of-two Alford was sacked from London’s Burning two years later after he was convicted for supplying cocaine and cannabis.
He served six weeks of a nine-month sentence in 1999.
Alford’s deepest disgrace came in April 2022 after a report to police that he had abused two girls, aged 14 and 15, at Hoddesden, Herts.
They had been at a pub before heading to the home of a pal whose dad had been drinking with Alford.
The actor bought £250 worth of food, booze and cigarettes from a petrol station, including vodka the girls drank later, a trial at St Albans crown court was told.
Once left alone with the girls, Alford had sex with the younger girl in a garden and a toilet.
The trial heard he asked her “Do you want this babe?” to which she answered “No”.
He assaulted the other teen twice while she was “dozing off” on the sofa.
Jurors were told he did not know the girls but was “in no doubt” they were under age.
Alford was reported to police two days later by the mum of one of the girls.
The older girl said Alford “destroyed my mental wellbeing”.
The other said the assault “affected me and my family in every way”.
Alford, who had been in a psychiatric hospital before his September 2025 trial, was convicted under his real name, John Shannon.
He was found guilty of four counts of sexual activity with the 14-year-old and sexual assault and assault by penetration involving the older girl.
