Susan Stranks (born 2 December 1938) is a British actress and TV presenter.

Career

Born in London, Stranks was ten years old when she played the role of the younger Emmeline Foster in the romantic adventure film '' The Blue Lagoon'' (1949). She then played Janet Smith, the young sister of

Ann Todd Dorothy Ann Todd (24 January 1907 – 6 May 1993) was an English film, television and stage actress who achieved international fame when she starred in 1945's '' The Seventh Veil''. From 1949 to 1957 she was married to David Lean who directed h ...

, in the

David Lean Sir David Lean (25 March 190816 April 1991) was an English film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. Widely considered one of the most important figures in British cinema, Lean directed the large-scale epics '' The Bridge on the Rive ...

film '' Madeleine'' (1950). Stranks played a young student in the crime drama ''

Sapphire Sapphire is a precious gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, consisting of aluminium oxide () with trace amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, chromium, vanadium, or magnesium. The name sapphire is derived via the Latin "sap ...

'' (1959), and had a small part as a schoolgirl in the train scenes of '' The 39 Steps'' (also 1959) starring

Kenneth More Kenneth Gilbert More, CBE (20 September 1914 – 12 July 1982) was an English film and stage actor. Initially achieving fame in the comedy ''Genevieve'' (1953), he appeared in many roles as a carefree, happy-go-lucky gent. Films from this peri ...

. Both roles were uncredited. She was a regular panellist on the TV pop music show ''

Juke Box Jury ''Juke Box Jury'' was a music panel show which ran on BBC Television between 1 June 1959 and 27 December 1967. The programme was based on the American show '' Jukebox Jury'', itself an offshoot of a long-running radio series. The American seri ...

'', and also appeared in ''

Emergency Ward 10 ''Emergency Ward 10'' is a British medical soap opera series shown on ITV between 1957 and 1967. Like ''The Grove Family'', a series shown by the BBC between 1954 and 1957, ''Emergency Ward 10'' is considered to be one of British television's ...

''. She is best known for the children's TV series ''

Magpie Magpies are birds of the Corvidae family. Like other members of their family, they are widely considered to be intelligent creatures. The Eurasian magpie, for instance, is thought to rank among the world's most intelligent creatures, and is on ...

'', which she co-presented from 1968 to 1974. Following ''Magpie'', Stranks devised and presented a programme for pre-school children, named ''

Paperplay ''Paperplay'' is a British children's television programme, produced by Thames Television for the ITV network between 1974 and 1981. The show was devised and presented by Susan Stranks, a former ''Magpie'' presenter. In each show, Stranks would ...

'', which ran until 1981. Stranks has since become a children's radio campaigner, helping to create Fun Radio, a station aimed at children aged under 10 years old.

Personal life

Stranks was married to actor and media personality

Robin Ray Robin Ray (17 September 1934 – 29 November 1998Roger T. Stearn, "Ray, Robin (1 ...

(son of comedian Ted Ray) from 1960 until his death in 1998.Picture of Ray and Stranks at the National Portrait Gallery, accessed 14 February 2009
/ref> They had one child, Rupert.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stranks, Susan 1938 births Living people English child actresses English film actresses English television presenters Actresses from London