Home heartbreak for mum of 22 Sue Radford as family lose out on dream countryside move
Britain's biggest family, the Radfords, have their fair share of ups and downs in the new series of 22 Kids and Counting as they deal with their family home.
Sue Radford had her heart set on an idyllic £850,000 rural retreat earlier this year, but she was left devastated when the deal for their dream home fell through.
Speaking to OK!, she said: "We really wanted to move to the countryside for a quieter life, a bit more privacy. When it fell through it was absolutely gutting, but sometimes you think these things happen for a reason and I guess it was just not meant to be. It was upsetting when it happened."
The Radfords, who are parents to Chris, 35, Sophie, 30, Chloe, 28, Jack, 27, Daniel, 25, Luke, 23, Millie, 22, Katie, 21, James, 20, Ellie, 19, Aimee, 18, Josh, 17, Max, 15, Tillie, 14, Oscar, 12, Casper, 11, Hallie, nine, Phoebe, seven, Archie, six, Bonnie, five and Heidie, four, along with their 17th child Alfie who was stillborn in 2014, had even planned for five of their older children to stay behind in the Morecambe property. Despite the change in plans, Sue reveals a sense of relief that the move is off the table.
"It always bothered me that some of the older kids were going to still live in this house and we were going to go and live in the new house," Sue Radford admits. "So I'm glad that we're not doing it now. There are so many memories that have been made in this house. It would have been a shame to have left it behind.", reports OK!.
Sue teases about the diversity of stories in the upcoming episodes, as the fifth series launches this week: "There are lots visitations in this series. It will show Noel's adoption story, Millie's engagement is very exciting the wedding should be around the end of this year and Katie's gender reveal is coming."
In the series' debut episode, hearts are captured as Casper steps onto the football pitch, aspiring to catch the eye of talent scouts from major clubs. His subsequent disappointment is palpable, yet he remains resolute in pursuit of his dream.
Sue is the epitome of parental pride discussing Casper: "He's such a lovely soul is Casper," expressing her sorrow over his dreams undergoing forced adjournment. "When your children have hopes and dreams and they're shattered because they don't get what they would really love, then it's difficult not to let them get disheartened."
"But it's not going to put him off. He's going to try again and that's typical Casper you'll always find him with a football. He loves football."
Putting your children on TV is a bold move, but Sue and Noel have never worried about fame affecting their offspring.
"At the end of the day, the kids know we are a normal family," says Sue. "We have a few more children than most, but we are just a normal family and they don't see themselves as famous. We're just a normal family with lots more children! I think the kids will always be grounded in that respect."
"Material things don't matter," she says. "So long as you have your family, that's all that matters. We do keep the kids grounded. They're just normal kids. Me and Noel have never been the sort of parents that would want that for our children."
But Sue and Noel are just normal people like the rest of us and when 53 year old Noel has a midlife crisis, it's all caught on camera, especially his spray tan.
"Noel had a bit of a midlife crisis," laughs Sue. "He went on a rambling walk with some ramblers, took some time out from work.."
With Heidie starting school, Sue will finally have some time for herself and she's hoping to use it to reconnect with Noel.
"We used to try to have a date night once a month, but things are just quite hectic and sometimes you don't get around to it," she says. "I think Noel might take a day off work and we might go out and do something for the day together. We're really looking forward to that in September."
The new series of Channel 5’s 22 Kids and Counting will air on Sunday, July 21 at 8pm.
