BUYING groceries can be expensive for families, so imagine how expensive it is for mum-of-22 Sue Radford.
Sue, 60, who is mum to Britain’s biggest family, showed off how much food they have to buy for their bumper brood – and revealed the eye-watering cost.
Morecambe-based Sue and Noel – who fund their family with a pie shop and their Channel 5 show 22 Kids and Counting – uploaded a photo showing their kitchen covered in Aldi groceries.
And while many fans guessed that the total cost could come to around £200, the actual amount was nearly double.
Sue revealed: “Lots of you guessed pretty close but most guessed around £200.
“The actually total was £375.65 [sic].”
It is not surprising it isn’t cheap, with Sue and Noel still having most of their kids under their roof.
They are parents to Christopher, 36, Sophie, 31, Chloe, 30, Jack, 28, Daniel, 26, Luke, 25, Millie, 24, Katie, 22, James, 22, Ellie, 20, Aimee, 19, Josh, 18, Max, 16, Tillie, 15, Oscar, 14, Casper, 13, Alfie (stillborn), Hallie, 10, Phoebe, 9, Archie, 8, Bonnie, 6, and Heidie, 5.
Sue has said previously: “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.”
Mum Sue is known to go all-out for her bumper brood at Christmas, reportedly forking out over £7,000 on gifts every year.
In a video the family, from Lancashire, shared on their YouTube channel, dad Noel showed how he cooks a 10kg turkey, 7kg of potatoes and sprouts, 50 Yorkshire puddings, 80 pigs in blankets and litres of gravy.
The couple also stay up late peeling potatoes and vegetables at 1am on Christmas Day and children open their gifts by 6.30am.
Sue said each kid gets between £100 – £200 spent on them, which usually works out at around 300 presents bought in total.
All those presents then need wrapping, and Sue and Noel get through a staggering 70 rolls of wrapping paper every year.
What’s more, Sue considers herself a “demon wrapper”, according to Mail Online, as she can wrap a whopping 20 presents in just 15 minutes and has got her process down to a tee.
She added: “I buy presents through the year, and wrap them as they come in.
“One of our biggest headaches at Christmas is where to hide all the gifts. We have them everywhere — even in the boiler cupboard. The trick is remembering where.”
RADFORD FINE
The Radfords were recently hit with a hefty fine after pulling their kids out of school for a £52,000 trip to Disney World Florida.
Noel and Sue enjoyed a sun-soaked extravaganza in the Sunshine State to celebrate the mum’s 50th birthday in April but were whacked with an eye-watering fine for the privilege.
The Lancashire duo were found guilty of failing to ensure regular attendance at school for four of their children between March 24 and May 1, 2025 at Preston Magistrates Court, LancsLive reported.
The parents were whacked with a £65 fine for each child on top of £118 worth of court costs.
Despite telling The Daily Mirror they have been “feeling the pinch” financially, they previously revealed they would spare no expense on what they hoped would be the holiday of a lifetime.
How does family-of-22 the Radfords afford to live?
AS Britain’s biggest family, it may come as no surprise that Sue and Noel Radford must have some hefty bills.
Between them, they have a whopping 22 children and seven dogs, which often has some people wonder how they manage their money.
The Radfords support themselves with the proceeds of Noel’s bakery, The Radford Pie Company, which is located near their home.
On their website, it says: “We have owned our own lovely bakery since 1999 which is how we manage to provide for (and feed) our huge and expanding family as well as for the local people of Heysham and Morecambe.”
The family expanded their business to cater to online orders placed across the UK.
The business is a family affair, with Noel at the helm, and some of their children helping out.
The older kids, who are working at least part-time, don’t get a free ride as they’re made to pay a small amount of rent to their parents.
“Us older ones do pay a little bit of board. Granted it’s not a lot but I’m also trying to save up for my own house at the moment.” their daughter Chloe said in a video on the YouTube channel.
Sue added: “We’ve always said if you want to buy somewhere, renting is a bit of dead money, so we’d rather you saved that money up and stayed at home a bit longer.
“I also do believe they should pay board if they are earning. We’ve always been brought up by our parents that we had to pay board.”
Noel and Sue famously don’t rely on benefits for their bumper brood and live off their pie shop for income.
They also revealed they make money from brand partnerships on social media.
The Radford family stars in their own reality TV show 22 Kids and Counting – which has run for four series.
Brand expert Andy Barr believes Noel and Sue have been paid less than £10,000 for each show.
He told the Daily Mail: “The typical fee per episode is going to be in the thousands rather than the tens or hundreds of thousands that people often think is the case with TV shows of this nature.
“If they continue to get commissioned for a fourth or fifth season, then they are going to be able to command a higher fee.”
He estimates that the Radfords make £ 5,000 an episode.
