Stranks moved from Australia to England where he became known as a scriptwriter for radio, cinema and comics. He wrote The Adventures of PC 49, first as a radio serial (1947-53), and also in two feature films, The Adventures of PC 49 (1949) and A Case for PC 49 (1951), and a comic strip, drawn by Strom Gould and John Worsley, in Eagle (1950-57). He also wrote for Dan Dare, including the serial 'Prisoners of Space'.

He wrote the lyrics for 'All', Britain's first entry into the Eurovision Song Contest in 1957. He died of a cerebral haemorrhage while on holiday in Spain and is buried there.