ANYONE who grew up in the 1980s will have fond memories of Super Gran, the literary creation that inspired a popular TV series about the adventures of a bionic Scottish grandmother.

But now the amazing feats of Granny Smith – who wore a tartan Tam O'Shanter bonnet and rode a flying bicycle – will be introduced to a new generation of youngsters as the classic children's story is reissued by publishers.

It is almost 40 years since the first Super Gran book was published in 1978. Ayr-based author Forrest Wilson, 81, went on to write 11 more over the next decade selling more than a million copies.

The crime-fighting granny was zapped by rays from a super machine and it made her extra fast, incredibly strong and with X-ray eyesight.

Renfrew-born Forrest recalls how Super Gran was inspired by three characters: Pansy Potter from The Beano, his former girlfriend Cathy and late mother-in-law Marion – a woman he says always had an air of invincibility.

"My mother-in-law lived one floor up in a tenement in Maryhill in Glasgow," he says. "One day when her next door neighbour was locked out, she opened the window, walked fearlessly along the narrow ledge to the neighbour's window, climbed inside and unlocked the door.

"She inspired me to write about a granny. There was Superman, Wonder Woman and all these other superheroes but they had never had a Super Gran before."

Before he created Super Gran, Forrest started out writing scripts for children's comics

"There was an advert in the Sunday Post in 1966 and my wife Jean applied," he says. "They sent her a leaflet explaining how to write scripts for picture stories, but she didn't want to do that so I decided to have a go."

A love of comics was re-awakened a decade earlier during his two years of national service in the Royal Air Force.

"My sister had three boys and when they were finished with The Dandy and The Beano, she used to post them to me," he says.

"At first I would open up the brown paper envelope surreptitiously to not let anyone see I was reading comics.

"But when some of the other men discovered it, they would queue up to read them when I was finished.

"That kept me in touch with children's comics for when I came to write them myself."

When Forrest started working for the Scottish Milk Marketing Board in Glasgow in 1968, he continued to write in his spare time and soon discovered a new passion: crosswords.

"Each morning the other men in the office spent the first half hour doing The Herald crossword," he recalls. "I hadn't the foggiest what a cryptic crossword was, but didn't want to let on to that.

"I went to the library, got a book that explained it all including how to compile them. I ended up compiling crosswords for 30 years.

"They were mostly for farmers or about pop music for girls' magazines. Although over the years I did them for various different trades including licensing, equestrian, building and architecture."

Super Gran was made into a television series that first aired in 1985 with a catchy theme tune sung by comedian Billy Connolly.

While based on Forrest's books it was another writer, Jenny McDade, who adapted it for the small screen.

"Basically they just wanted the name Super Gran," he says. "That was a bit disappointing but not unexpected.

"When they take a book and adapt it for television or film it can often change beyond recognition. You have simply got to live with that."

Super Gran also featured on the now defunct BBC storytelling show Jackanory and was the subject of a touring stage play.

The books have been translated into multiple languages including Spanish, Catalan, Japanese, Hungarian and German.

Forrest is now retired but looks back proudly on his writing career.

"Someone once told me I should write a bestseller," he says. "I replied: "I have written a bestseller. In fact, I've written a dozen …"

"There is a bit of a snobbery because a lot of people think writing children's books is easy. Years ago I met a chap who had written 53 but no one had ever heard of him."

He still has huge fondness for his Tartan-clad super hero and says it was always his intention to make her a universally relatable character.

"The one thing I never wanted Super Gran to do was be able to fly," he says. "When I was younger and read the Superman books I thought he was too perfect – he could do everything. I don't think anyone should be able to do everything.

"Basically she does things that an ordinary person can do, but exaggerated and taken to the next degree. I tried to make her as near human as possible."

Super Gran by Forrest Wilson is published by Andersen Press, priced £6.99