An elderly grandmother, Granny Smith (Gudrun Ure), acquires superpowers when she is accidentally hit by a magic ray created by Inventor Black (Bill Shine).

In the guise of "Super Gran", she protects the residents of the fictional town of Chisleton from villains such as James Jennings, Eastie and Roderick Lithgoe "Scunner" Campbell (Iain Cuthbertson) and his gang, The Muscles (Alan Snell and Brian Lewis) and Tub (Lee Marshall, Jason Carrielies[Note 1]).

The show was filmed in various locations around North East England, including Tynemouth, Whitley Bay, South Shields and Beamish Museum.

[23] Sue Sweeney, who appeared in many episodes, recalls that she "did everything from sunbathing on the beach at Cullercoats in the rain to a Gorilla at the fancy dress party.

[23] Many guest stars appeared on the programme, including George Best, Spike Milligan, Eric Bristow, Roy Kinnear and Geoff Capes.

After owner Gordon Reed put the props up for sale after deciding to revamp the mall, local electrician Mark Simms bought Super Gran's flying bike and magic ray machine for £403.

According to director Tony Kysh, "Tyne Tees was one of the first Western companies to sell to China TV where Super Gran was a big success.

[citation needed] The University of Nottingham cited Super Gran as an example of perceptions of grandmothers "being reshaped by socio-cultural messages as well as personal experience".

The Whitley Bay Playhouse scheduled a Super Gran evening in February 2012, featuring classic episodes, a making-of documentary, photographs and props.

[18][32] The series is famous for its "special effects" (Super Gran's ability to jump high and walk/run quickly) and low production standards.

The most used "special effect" was Super Gran's ability to jump very high (or at least higher than normal) and was achieved using a trampoline and trick camera angles.

Sue Sweeney, a local celebrity who featured in many episodes, became firm friends with Gudrun Ure and once claimed the Scottish thespian's acting ability was so high she "could make you smile, squirm and scream in equal measure without saying a word."

[33] A third series was planned to begin filming in early 1988 but the programme was abandoned by Tyne Tees Television in favour of increased spending on daytime gameshows such as Chain Letters (which was very popular in the late 1980s).

While no firm production plans ever emerged owing to the cancellation, one early plot would have involved Super Gran travelling to Spain to foil an attempt by Scunner Campbell to control the "world trade market".