SUE Radford, the matriarch of the biggest brood in Britain, has revealed the secret behind her jaw-dropping 3 stone weight loss.
The 50-year-old, who shares 22 children with husband Noel Radford, has been proudly showing off hew new svelte figure on social media – and according to her, the transformation is not a result of fat jabs.
The TV personality, who recently revealed her daughter Sophie has split from partner Joe Bradley after 10 years, thanked diet and exercise for her makeover.
“I think because so many people are taking [weight-loss medication] now, they automatically assume you are – but no I haven’t,” she told The Mirror ahead of a new series of 22 Kids & Counting.
“I turned 50 last year and it was a big turning point. My weight had been creeping up, I was eating too many junk foods and snacks like graze boards in the evening and I wanted to do something about it.”
Sue, who went from a size 12 to a size 8, has now cut out a number of foods and no longer consumes sugar, pasta, bread, snacks and junk.
On top of a stricter diet, the mum-of-22 also burns calories at the gym, exercising “every day in the week and trying to be healthy”.
“I have lost three stone since turning 50 last April and I feel amazing. I also feel so much better,” said Sue who looked sensational in an orange swimsuit during a holiday.
Back on our screen on Sunday on Channel 5, the mum revealed she also fasts between 7pm and 1pm.
Being mistaken for daughters, Sophie, 32 and Aimee, 19, has made her really chuffed – and rightly so.
She said: “To be compared to Sophie and Aimee is such a massive compliment.”
Husband Noel, whom Sue’s been married to for more than three decades, said his wife looks “fantastic” and that he doesn’t know how she resists the temptation of biscuits and other treats.
Looking back at how far she’s come, Sue admitted she was stunned when she saw photos of herself before the weight loss, adding her “goal is to keep the weight off”.
As well as fasting, Sue also makes sure to take her daily dose of vitamins and drink green tea, which is know to suppress appetite.
But with a mega brood and 22 kids, the youngest of whom is just five, it’s not always easy to eat healthy – especially when the children want to have less healthy alternatives, such as white wraps instead of wholemeal.
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.
This comes after Sue threatened to quit social media after posting the first family motorhome holiday of 2026.
Morecambe-based Sue told her followers: “I’ve not really posted on here much recently as I’m not really into Insta anymore.
“In fact I’ve been thinking of not having it but I’m going to try and get back into it.”
Sue’s reason wasn’t specified, but it follows husband Noel, 55, slamming online ‘cowardly’ trolls for being ‘jealous’ of their lifestyle.
When it comes to their social media presence, the father, who owns a successful pie business, shared: “We don’t have Twitter – or X as it’s called these days. We got rid of that years ago. That’s the worst of them all – it’s absolutely vile.”
Sue agreed, saying: “Noel is right – Twitter, or X, is just toxic. We try to manage our own social media accounts and ignore the comments that people make elsewhere.”
The father-of-22 claimed that people must be ‘jealous’ of their lifestyle, as he wrote: “There are people who are jealous of what you’ve got.”
Noel explained that previously, the trolling got so bad, that the family considered taking legal action.
