It took a pandemic to stop Sue Radford from having children.
It has been more than two years since the woman at the helm of Britain’s biggest family last fell pregnant, with her 22nd child, and she confides that she hasn’t felt broody at all since.
‘We’re definitely done! Definitely. One hundred per cent,’ she says.
It means this Christmas will be the first for decades where she hasn’t been pregnant, nursing or pondering whether she could feasibly have another child.
She seems stunned herself by this reverse seasonal miracle — although her husband Noel’s face says, ‘Praise be!’.
Sue, 46, has vowed before that she’s done with baby-making. She declared her retirement from the womb after Archie, baby no 20. The same goes for Bonnie (baby number 21).
The couple’s youngest, Heidie (baby no 22), will turn two in April, so maybe she does mean it this time.
The question is: What was the breaking point? This is biology, it seems. French, Chemistry and French. For more information, see homeschooling
It has been more than two years since Sue Radford, the woman at the helm of Britain’s biggest family, last fell pregnant, with her 22nd child, and she confides that she hasn’t felt broody at all since
Sue, who was pregnant in March 2013, had nine kids: a toddler, a child under three, and nine elementary-aged students. All of them huddled around the dinner table and tried to solve their Zooms using their Teams. It was hell. ‘And maybe it put me off having children,’ Sue concludes, cheerily.
Sue, Noel, and their family live in a converted care home with ten bedrooms in Morecambe in Lancashire. They first became publicized in 2012 when the Channel 4 documentary 15 Kids And Counting featured them.
And their new Christmas special, airing on Channel 5 on Sunday and offering a jaw-dropping glimpse into their epic festive preparations (complete with live turkey, but we’ll come to that) is called 22 Kids And Counting.
Can’t we stop counting yet? ‘No, because we have the grandchildren now,’ points out Noel, 50. The grandchildren are tallied up.
‘Sophie has three, Millie has one, Chris has three but he also has four step-children, which we count as ours, so that’s 11 grandchildren so far, although only one lives with us full time.’
It is difficult to determine who lives in the house.
The eldest two Radford children, Chris, 32, and Sophie, 28, have indeed moved out, but that leaves — deep breath — Chloe, 26, Jack, 24, Daniel, 22, Luke, 21, Millie, 20, Katie, 19, James, 18, Ellie, 16, Aimee, 15, Josh, 14, Max, 13, Tillie, 11, Oscar ten, Casper, nine, Hallie, six, Phoebe, five, Archie, four, Bonnie, three and Heidie, one.
Baby Alfie, baby no 17, who was unfortunately stillborn in 2014 is always included in these numbers.
Ophelia is the granddaughter of Millie and lives with us.
The family’s new Christmas special, airing on Channel 5 on Sunday and offering a jaw-dropping glimpse into their epic festive preparations (complete with live turkey, but we’ll come to that) is called 22 Kids And Counting
And let’s not forget the animals: Bluebell the French bulldog has joined us on a Zoom call at the kitchen table today, but the family also has three other dogs, Lola, Ivy and Mabel. ‘And two rabbits!’ says Noel.
They have many children who are willing to help with animal care. ‘Oh, the kids will take them for the odd walk, but mostly it’s me because the dogs are my thing really,’ says Sue. ‘I love dogs. I’d have hundreds of dogs.’
Noel nods. ‘They are your fur babies, aren’t they?’
Over the years I interviewed Sue Radford several times. It is amazing to me how relaxed she seems.
In 2017, she was literally just back from the hospital after having Archie when I spent a morning — a school morning, too! — observing the organised chaos of breakfast, bag hunting and marching the kids off to three different schools.
Sue was calm throughout. It is clear that this woman will not be distracted by any circumstance, which I interpreted incorrectly.
She became agitated by the lockdown.
They were still counting down the number of family members who had been diagnosed with Covid last year. Noel and Daniel had it. However, Sue thinks Millie and Millie also did.
The horrors that the rest of us experienced, this family went through them all, and multiplied.
Noel owns a bakery that has done very well in the aftermath of the pandemic. However, there have been some difficult moments where they were forced to close down due to illness or staff being isolated.
Two years ago, the Radford family was pictured. From left to right: Luke and Chloe in the top row holding Hallie, Katie, and Sophie. Middle row, left to right: Daniel and Ellie holding Phoebe. Father Noel Radford holds Phoebe. Sue is holding Archie Josh and Jack. Bottom row, Aimee and Tilly with Max, Casper, Oscar and James
It was the homeschooling, though, that brought Sue to the brink, leading her to tell the health visitor that she could not cope — for the first time ever.
‘There was one day the health visitor came and I said, “I just cannot do this.” She said, “STOP! Stop stressing about yourself. Do what you can and they will catch up when they go back to school.”
‘It was better after that, when I accepted that you can only do your best.’
It’s all relative how difficult it is to make it through. This catch-up focuses on their Christmas preparations. Sue criticizes Sue for not starting earlier but admits she’s been wrapping since September.
Her gift-wrapping skills are unmatched. She can make a diaper in 2 seconds. The same way she wraps presents, she is able to do the same thing in less time (she stares at Noel intently) and can wrap them in half the time.
What number of rolls does she purchase? ‘Between 50 and 70,’ she says, as the pair demonstrate their carpet-clearing operation after all the paper gets ripped off on Christmas morning.
The Radfords don’t really have a minimal approach to anything, so maybe it’s not surprising that they go over the top at Christmas.
This year even more so, Sue admits, ‘because last year we couldn’t really do it properly.’
The Radfords don’t really have a minimal approach to anything, so maybe it’s not surprising that they go over the top at Christmas. This year even more so, Sue admits, ‘because last year we couldn’t really do it properly’
Next week, they will have 27 for Christmas dinner, and a few more souls on Boxing Day when her mother and Noel’s father come. Noel is the one who cooks, while she makes the menus. The hard part is actually the shopping for and cooking.
Sue goes to the supermarket every year and picks up about 10 kg of potatoes, 4kg carrots and 60 Yorkshire puddings. She also buys 120 blankets for pigs in blankets. Every single child likes Brussels sprouts — although Sue doesn’t — so they buy 2.5kg of them. The family don’t actually like Christmas pudding, so dessert is trifle and cake.
The supermarket bill is around £400 — and that’s before they hit the butchers.
They usually buy a frozen turkey or a roast beef from the supermarket, but Noel bought a turkey fresh from a local farm.
Alas, he forgot to fill in the ‘oven-ready’ box, and the bird — still very much alive and squawking — was delivered to the house.
Sue’s horror, and the eventual chase around the garden to get it swapped for an oven-ready one, is captured on camera for the documentary.
This will then be joined by two whole gammons and one beef joint in the oven.
Sue makes a big grocery shop every year. She picks up about 10kg potatoes and 4kg of carrots. Sue also buys 60 Yorkshire puddings. Sue has 120 blanketed pigs. Every single child likes Brussels sprouts — although Sue doesn’t — so they buy 2.5kg of them
This family is spending an incredible amount of money on Christmas. They admit the whole shebang costs them around £5,000 to £7,000, most of which goes on presents for the kids.
They buy roughly 300 presents, aiming to spend between £100 and £200 for each main present, ‘then bits and bobs’. The kids write lists of what they want, but they don’t always get their dream items.
This year, when shops are struggling with supply, they certainly haven’t got them. Sue and Noel have spent hours trying to source a particular Barbie doll’s house, a PS5 and a Scalextric set.
‘We have had to give up on the PS5 and we got the doll’s house eventually, but the cost was disgusting. It is supposed to be £240 but one site was offering it for over £700.’
It is amazing to see the numbers and how everything scales.
They have four Christmas trees each year, with personalized baubles and stockings. On Christmas Eve they all get a box with a new set of pyjamas — matching, if possible. You don’t know how to track the sizes of your children, particularly if they grow one inch each time you turn your head.
More lists, says Sue. ‘And even if you get the wrong size it will fit someone,’ says Noel.
It is often asked how Radfords are able to afford their lifestyle. Famously, they have not relied on welfare and their bakery that specializes in pies is clearly thriving (they recently expanded to new premises), but it still.
Today, they are open about it. Their TV and social media work accounts for a large portion of their current income. Because they are well-known influencers, Santa visits them all year.
Sue stated that Sue’s brood (pictured here with Noel) consumed sixteen pints of milk per day and three to four loaves each of bread. She could also eat 80 yoghurts per week.
In return, they received gifts, holiday and large-ticket household products over the years.
Sue says it ‘means the kids can have treats and holidays’. Over the years, their home received many upgrades including a roof replacement and a hot tub. They also have an outdoor cinema and a pool.
Attention is not a good thing. They have many fans, but they don’t have all the answers. They were criticized for being too pompous when they shared their intention to donate toys to charity. ‘You can’t win,’ says Sue.
Does the social media component now have their primary focus? No. ‘It takes a lot of work to keep that side going, but it won’t last.’
Noel affirms that the bakery will always be the priority, ‘because you can’t hand a YouTube channel down to the kids, can you?’. They certainly wouldn’t have been able to jet off to Lapland on a pre-Christmas treat last month — taking 13 of the children with them — if a TV company hadn’t been helping out with the bill.
The documentary is dominated by this trip, which makes for some amazing viewing. It would have been an accomplishment to take 13 children to Lapland at any other time. But in the present situation?
‘It was lovely when we were there, but getting there was a nightmare,’ admits Sue. ‘We hadn’t travelled anywhere during the pandemic, then discovered that four of the kids’ passports had expired, and Heidie has never had one at all.’
You can make an emergency visit to Liverpool’s passport office.
There was also airport security and vaccination paperwork. Noel can’t help but relive all of this while burying his head in the palms. ‘Travelling is one of the most stressful things, but this time it was even worse with all the masks and forms to fill in.’
They actually lose a child in the documentary (thankfully he hasn’t wandered far in the airport), but I ask if the opposite ever happens. Sue laughed. ‘Noel has rounded up children who aren’t ours.’
It is a miracle that both of them are still happily married and seem happy, even if they’re exhausted. Sue rolls her eyes when I ask what gifts they bought for each other this Christmas. It’s the one thing on her list that has not been ticked off.
‘Noel is awful to buy for. He just says, “Don’t get me this, don’t get me that”. If he’s not careful he’s going to get a tenner in a card.’
Noel shrugs. ‘That will be fine. I have everything I need.’
22 Kids and counting at Christmas will air on Channel 5 Sunday, December 19, 9pm.