22 Kids and Counting, charting the lockdown struggles of the Radford family, is starting this week.
And the Channel 5 documentary series sees dad Noel shed light on the staggering cost of providing for such a massive family – including paying for so many birthday presents.
What do Noel and Sue Radford say on 22 Kids and Counting?
During the first episode of the Channel 5 series, airing on Monday (February 22) evening, Noel explains they’ve spent as much as £90k on the kids’ birthdays since their first born, Chris, arrived.
Noel said: “We’ve probably spent somewhere between £80,000 and £90,000 on birthday presents since Chris was born.”
Read more: The Radford Family reveal how much they spend on their 22 kids at Christmas
Sue replies: “That’s an insane amount of money, isn’t it? That’s not even including Christmas.”
“Oh god, no!” Noel laughs.
Sue also speaks about their shopping, revealing: “We go through probably 16 pints of milk a day, two to three loaves of bread. If we were having sausages for a meal we’d have 48 to 56… we’ve got to get lots more than other families.
Money can’t buy what we’ve got… if anything, we’re the richest parents out there, aren’t we.
“I’d say we spend £250 to £400 a week on shopping, it’s just been massive, it’s never ending.”
Noel says: “Our luxury is the kids and they’re more valuable that anything, really. Money can’t buy what we’ve got… if anything, we’re the richest parents out there, aren’t we.”
What happens in the first episode of the Channel 5 series?
In the first instalment of the series, viewers will get to see Sue and Noel bring their youngest daughter, Heidie, home from the hospital.
Sue gave birth to Heidie at the start of the coronavirus lockdown.
Elsewhere, the episode explains how the restrictions hit the family’s bakery business, which is their main source of income.
Read more: Sue Radford, mum of Britain’s biggest family, horrified as troll targets one-year-old daughter
As as a result, they turned to selling their pies online with the help of their social media savvy daughter, Chloe.
Noel says: “There’s people ordering pies online at two or three o’clock in the morning… what’s going on?”
It revealed that sales more than doubled.
The documentary also shows Noel giving his son Daniel, 21, a driving lesson.
Daniel says of his old man: “He’s not only a dad, he’s also a mate. I get along very well with him.”
In another part of the programme, Sue reflects positively on the long-term impact of the lockdown. She says: “I think a lot of families will look back on this whole lockdown and everything and think it brought us closer together… I would say we definitely came through it stronger.”
Noel adds: “It just shows, the Radford family, it’s strength in numbers, it’s what we thrive on!”
Will you be watching Sue, Noel and the Radford family children in 22 Kids and Counting? Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know.