With 22 children, Noel and Sue Radford get barely a minute to themselves. So it's no surprise that Noel has succumbed to a midlife crisis aged 53.
And with their reality show 22 Kids And Counting about to launch its fifth series, it’s all caught on camera - even 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 her youngest daughter Heidie starting school in September, 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.” Sue and her husband Noel are parents to Britain’s biggest family, sharing 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.Their 17th child, Alfie, was stillborn in 2014 and would now be 10 years old.
The drama plays out in the fifth series of 22 Kids & Counting, which returns to our screens on Channel 5 on Sunday 21st July at 8pm. “There are lots of things in this series,” says Sue. “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.” Young Casper wins hearts in episode one as he goes to football trials to see if he can get scouted for a major club.
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