Mum-of-22 Sue Radford reveals their week from hell with christening disasters, family arguments & near-miss car crash
HAVING kids is never an easy task, let alone when you have 22 like Sue and Noel Radford.
On tonight’s 22 Kids and Counting on Channel 5, the busy couple, who are parents to Britain’s largest family, revealed they had a stressful week with their bumper brood.
From a near-miss car crash when trying to teach Luke and Katie to drive, to Noel clashing with Luke in their pie shop, it isn’t all plain-sailing in the Radford household.
In their latest episode, which is airing this evening, Noel is flat out in the bakery and has 6,500 pies to deliver.
Usually daughter Chloe is on hand to help, but she’s off work due her partner Jake testing positive for Covid, leaving him working solo all hours of day and night.
Noel said: “It means I somehow have to make the best part of 6,500 on my own.
“What a day.”
Son Luke kindly steps in to help his dad, and although he is a bright chap and a quick learner, he also doesn’t like being told what to do by anyone, especially his dad.
During production, Noel tells his son: “It should be 30 seconds a tray. I think you need to be speeding up a bit Luke.”
In reply, Luke jokes: “Nobody likes a show-off.”
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Noel then asks him to put the packaged pies into boxes, and Luke says: “I didn’t agree to that part.”
He ends up putting all of the “fragile” tape upside down, but Noel thanks him for doing a “good job” overall.
Later in the episode, Noel and Sue agree to give Luke and Katie driving lessons to help them get some independence.
Noel said: “I think it would be a lot easier to pay for driving lessons, but they are so expensive.
“If you think each child costs £600 to a £1,000 each, times that by 18 kids or however many are left to drive, that’s a lot of pies.”
In one slightly hair-raising moment, Noel has to get Luke to hit the brakes before they crash.
Noel comments: “It was getting very hairy, getting too close to cars, I was fearing for my life.”
While poor Sue has to contend with Katie’s outbursts.
When Sue tells Katie to take her foot off the throttle, her daughter cries: “What’s the throttle?
“You need to tell me which leg, and I don’t know my left and right.”
Sue laughs: “My nerves are shot.”
In one upset moment, Katie even storms out of the car and refuses to carry on.
And the family also have a huge undertaking with the double christening of one-year-old Heidie and two-year-old Phoebe.
As Sue tries to get her huge family – totalling 40 members – dressing looking smart for the occasion, it seems the older kids have other ideas in mind.
The two main girls’ dresses look lovely until a couple of their older siblings manage to ruin them by using them to mop up some spilt blackcurrant juice.
In shock, Sue says: “Oh my god, what have they done? What a nightmare Noel.”
Noel said: “I think that is ruined.”
Thankfully Sue manages to save the day by washing them by hand and the christening goes as planned.
Sue said: “It’s a bit emotional that it’ll be the last christening for our kids.”
We previously shared how mum-of-22 Sue Radford lives a millionaire’s lifestyle with a £30k Range Rover, outdoor cinema & hot tub.
Earlier this year, the Radford family got even LARGER as Sue and Noel announced a new grandson was on the way.
We also revealed inside the garden of Britain’s biggest family where Sue and Noel Radford have a cinema, hot tub and bar.
