Grumpy gran aged 75 is global Fortnite sensation – BBC News

A 75-year-old Scottish grandmother has become a videogaming sensation after teaming up with one of the world’s most famous Fortnite players.

Cath Bowie, aka Grumpygran1948, has been hooked on Fortnite since being introduced to it by her grandson.

She spends up to six hours a day playing online – where her skills and hilarious commentary were spotted by US YouTuber SypherPK.

Their first “duo” racked up more than half a million views.

And Grumpygran1948 now has a squad of thousands of devoted fans all over the world.

Cath, from Moray, said: “When I first told my grandson I was going to start streaming, he was aghast.

“He said: ‘You can’t do that – nobody will watch you, nobody will follow you’. So of course now he doesn’t know what to say.”

Cath first spotted her then 17-year-old grandson playing Fortnite the week it was released in 2017.

It is now one of the most popular video games in the world, with more than 400 million players. It puts up to 100 players against each other in a fight to be the last one standing.

She told the BBC Radio’s Good Morning Scotland programme:”I just happened to go into his room and was rather intrigued by what I saw on the screen. That really was the beginning of it.”

She practiced in solo games for three years before joining “squads” in streamed games.

But she didn’t like some of the “toxic” language used by younger gamers – so set up her own teams of older players.

Cath said: “We don’t use the word kill – we use the word eliminate. So it’s not gory and you don’t see anyone lying on the ground with blood. They’re quite tasteful and I like that.

“When I started streaming, I wanted to have squads and I didn’t really have anyone that I could play with.

“When I went to play with random squads, I really didn’t like what I was hearing – it was quite toxic.

“So I decided that if I streamed, I would choose the folk that I played with – never, ever realising it would take off like this.”

Things really took off after Grumpygran1948 was spotted online by superstar gamer SypherPK.

The pair hit it off – and Cath even ended up singing the traditional Scottish children’s song, Ye Cannae Shove Yer Granny Aff A Bus, to him.

Cath said: “He’d obviously watched me and thought it might be amusing if he took me in to play with him – creating opportunities for the elderly folk.

“So he just came into my stream and asked me if I wanted to do a duel with him.

“I said yes and took a friend who comes from America with me, just to balance it up. We had three games with him and it was absolutely fantastic.

She added: “Anybody who plays Fortnite knows SypherPK and I had absolutely thousands of viewers that day and the next couple of days.

“I’m glad to say it has quietened down a bit now.”

Cath insists she won’t let her new-found gaming fame go to her head or get in the way of family life, with her husband happy for her to indulge in her nightly hobby.

“I wouldn’t say I’m famous. I am known but maybe I shouldn’t put myself on a pedestal,” she said.

“I never let it intrude on my personal life. It’s always when everybody else will be winding down their day – maybe they will be watching TV or something like that – and then I go on to Fortnite.”