Born in Glasgow, Alford attended Anna Scher's stage school from age 11 in London, alongside future EastEnders actors Sid Owen and Patsy Palmer.
[1] He appeared as a child actor in ITV sitcom Now and Then before landing the role of Robbie Wright in 1985 in Grange Hill.
His first single release was "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes", which reached number 13 and stayed in the UK chart for five weeks.
In 1999, Alford was convicted of supplying drugs to the News of the World undercover reporter Mazher Mahmood, and subsequently imprisoned for nine months.
[5] Following the collapse of the trial of Tulisa in 2014, when the judge said there were "strong grounds for believing" Mahmood had committed perjury,[6] Alford told Panorama that the conviction had led him to suicidal thoughts.
"[7][8] On 1 October 2018, Alford appeared at Highbury Corner Magistrate's court where he pleaded not guilty to two counts of assault on a police officer and guilty to a charge of criminal damage to a vehicle belonging to Camden Council on 1 September 2018 in Holloway London.