Radfords by numbers - 22 breakfasts, 2 washing machines, eye-watering food shop

26 February 2024 , 10:53

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Britain's largest family have faced many ups and downs over the years (Image: Radford Family)

It's a tiresome task running a household of 20 children - from mayhem at breakfast time to a constant cycle of washing.

But matriarch Sue Radford isn't considering putting her feet up any time soon. Once their youngest flies the nest, she and husband Noel hope to adopt or foster, to feed their 'addiction' to children.

Sue, 48, who has spent 16-and-a-half years of her life pregnant, explains: “We adore being surrounded by kids, so I’d love to adopt or foster. We’re not having any more of our own so it’s definitely something we’d think about when ours are older.”

But being Britain's largest family is by no means cheap, with an unsurprisingly eye-watering weekly food shop bill. As well as Chris, 34, the couple share Sophie, 29, Chloe, 28, Jack, 26, Daniel, 24, Luke, 22, Millie, 22, Katie, 20, James, 19, Ellie, 18, Aimee, 17, Josh, 16, Max, 14, Tillie, 13, Oscar, 11, Casper, 10, Hallie, eight, Phoebe, seven, Archie, six, Bonnie, four, and Heidie, three. They also lost a son, Alfie, who was stillborn in 2014.

The family say their weekly food shop can cost up to £400 (Channel 5)

Sue is up by 7am to begin the military operation that is breakfast, while Noel has already been to work and is back at home to help with the morning rush. “Some kids will want porridge, some Weetabix, some toast,” she adds.

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“We have them doing things in a particular order – older ones go upstairs to get themselves ready while I help the smaller ones. It’s Bedlam by the shoe rack!” While Noel, 53, returns to the bakery for 9am, Sue then embarks on a mammoth tidying, hoovering and washing session – the family has two washing machines to cope with the five daily loads. Noel is usually back for the school run.

Luckily, none of the kids are fussy eaters, so everyone eats the same meal at teatime. Even when the last of the smaller children are in bed, there will be stuff still to do like tidying up the garden and getting uniforms ready for the following day. And with a weekly food bill running at around £450 – their double fridge comes in handy.

Little wonder that Sue credits teamwork as the basis for their happy marriage of 32 years. She says: “We don’t take each other for granted, we’re each other’s best friend and we try to get a date night now once a month – we have ready-made babysitters, after all!”

Their love story began 35 years ago when they met as teenagers in Kendal in the Lake District. They married in 1992, when Sue was 17 and Chris, now 34, had already arrived.

“We’re proud to be Britain’s biggest family but we’d only planned on having about three,” Sue laughs. “We’re addicted to children – but as addictions go, it’s not a bad one because it’s motivated by love. We have plenty to go round.”

But Sue, who is also a grandma of 10, reveals unsurprisingly that with so many children, it hasn’t all been plain sailing. Back in 2000, the pair expanded their already successful bakery into new premises.

Sue and her husband Noel's love story began 35 years ago when they met as teenagers in Kendal in the Lake District (Instagram/theradfordfamily)

The Radfords: Making Life Count book will be available in all good book stores from this Thursday

But foot and mouth disease hit the UK, the tourist trade plummeted and the venture failed. The mum admits they were faced with ‘‘losing everything”, adding: “We almost went bankrupt and thought we would lose the house.

“I just kept thinking: ‘There’s no way out of this, and I really don’t see how our marriage can survive.’ The whole thing took its toll on me and Noel. Looking back now, I can see that we would never, ever have called it a day but when you’re in that highly-pressurised moment, it’s hard to see a way out.

“There were days when I’d think: ‘that’s it, I’m leaving the business and Noel, I just can’t do it anymore. But our marriage has always been strong – and having the kids kept us right. We stuck together and got through it. It was sink or swim and we chose to swim.”

As well as a thriving bakery business – and their TV show 22 Kids & Counting now in its fourth series – the couple steer a suite of successful social media channels, from TikTok to Insta, Facebook and YouTube. But there can be two sides to such exposure. Fans have approached their home and taken photos, sometimes while the kids are in the garden. The family are in the process of moving to a more secluded property.

Mum and dad of UK's biggest family head on lavish holiday to the Maldives

Sue and Noel Radford on Loose Women (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

Then there is the online negativity, from personal attacks to speculation about how the couple afford their children and their holidays. Sue says: “People just jump to conclusions. We don’t claim benefits – the pie company is very successful and so is our media business. We work hard but we’re not millionaires! The nastiness is upsetting though. We just want to be able to give our children the best possible life.

“My mindset changed when my dad passed away. I thought, if we want to be able to go on holiday and make memories with our children, then why should we be judged? You should live life how you want and not how other people want you to live it. If you’re happy and the kids are happy, then what does it matter what anybody else thinks?”

Sue admits she has stopped looking at hateful online comments. But a recent in-person incident left her shaken. “I was in Sainsbury’s when a woman huffed at me and gave me the most filthy look – it was like she wanted me dead,” she says.

The kids have also been targeted. Daughter Ellie was the subject of trolling after she posted images of her 18th birthday last year. “Some of the comments were shocking – accusing her of having an eating disorder,” Sue recalls. “But she’d simply been unwell and had lost a bit of weight. It was horrible.”

The Radford family are the stars of Channel 5's 22 Kids and Counting

With parents everywhere struggling to protect children from the worst of social media, Sue is hyper vigilant with her own. She backs the government’s plan to ban the use of mobile phones in schools – none of her children had a phone before they were 11 and the younger ones are not allowed access to social platforms.

Like every family, the Radfords have had their squabbles. There were reports of a fall-out last year between Sue and her daughter Millie, something Sue dismisses as “water under the bridge”. Then at Christmas, a row over pies sparked a huge row between Chloe and Luke, resulting in a professional mediator being brought in.

Now a new venture is on the horizon, with their book The Radfords: Making Life Count on the shelves in time for Mother’s Day. If she had her time again, would Sue do things differently? “Absolutely not,” she replies. “We never look back. We love what we’ve achieved.”

The Radfords: Making Life Count is published by Mirror Books on Thursday and available from all good bookshops and Amazon

Sue Lee