WITH the Easter holidays in full swing, that can mean only one thing – the Radfords are heading abroad.
Britain’s Biggest Family jetted away for 14 lavish trips last year – not only did they enjoy a £3,800 a night Disney cruise, but they also visited a swanky Dubai jaunt and took trips to Lapland, New York, Legoland and the Maldives, too.
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And now, with the kids off school for Easter, Sue, 50, and Noel, 54, have taken their bumper brood away, yet again.
But it appears that the Radford’s posh trip to the US didn’t get off to a great start – and in fact, saw Millie Radford and her children separated.
Posting on social media, Millie Radford, who first became a mum at 19 and is Sue and Noel’s third eldest daughter, detailed the family’s chaotic situation that left her stranded after a holiday mishap.
In a post shared to her Instagram stories, the 23-year-old mum-of-three revealed that she and two of her kids were “rejected” from joining a flight to America with their wider family.
Read more on the Radfords
The young mother shared how one of her three children was able to board the TUI plane with her mother, Sue Radford, and the rest of the clan, while she and her two older kids were forced to remain at Gatwick Airport.
Despite being separated from daughter Elodie, 18 months, Millie’s other children, Ophelia, four, and Chester, three, faced the same issue as their mother and weren’t allowed on the flight.
The incident resulted from their ESTAs being out of date, with the travel authorisation used by visitors traveling to the US without a Visa.
Millie then told her 131,000 followers: “Guys let this be your reminder to double check your ESTA because mine, Chester and Ophelia’s had run out.
“We [were] rejected being allowed on our flight today to America.”
Millie, who got married last year, then explained: “Harley and Elodie [were] able to get onto the light.
“Lucky we have re-applied and they have all come back in time for us to fly tomorrow.”
Luckily for Millie, the family’s patriarch was on hand to help, as she continued: “My dad has stayed to help me thank god because we’ve had to travel hours to another airport from Gatwick.”
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.
Shortly after, Sue re-shared the story post and alongside a crying emoji, sobbed: “Absolute worst start to the holiday.”
Moments later, the Radford matriarch uploaded a snap holding her granddaughter Elodie, shortly after they arrived in America.
Guys let this be your reminder to double check your ESTA because mine, Chester and Ophelia’s had run out
Millie Radford
Reassuring Millie that her daughter was fine after their separation, Sue wrote: “I’m fine mummy don’t worry and I was such a good girl on the flight.”
The family’s Easter trip is just days after Sue celebrated her 50th birthday.
Q&A with Sue and Noel Radford
With 22 kids, Sue and Noel have learnt a lot over the years.
Who is the stricter parent? Sue
Who is the naughtiest child? Archie
Do you prefer being parents or grandparents? Grandparents, you can spoil them more, and give them back at the end of the day!
What’s one thing you can’t teach your kids? Driving lessons, don’t even attempt to do them with your kids, it’s not worth it.
What’s something you’ve never told your children? We’ve never sat down with any of the kids and told them ‘this is how babies are made’. We’ve never had that conversation.
What’s your best parenting hack? Turn chores into games – making them fun to get them involved and help out.
How do you manage arguments and disagreements? There’s always someone falling out with someone else. When they get older, they have their own own opinions, and arguments get heated and last longer. We try to listen to them both, be the reasonable one, and get them to see it from both sides.
While Millie didn’t confirm exactly where in the US the family are headed to, it’s highly likely that we can expect to see epic Disneyland content on their feeds very soon.
Last year, Noel hinted at the family’s big holiday plans for 2025 and wrote: ”Well, it is a big birthday for a certain someone in 2025 – and Expedition Everest is definitely calling me home.”
He also added: ”I could pretend I’m going to new places in 2025 but everyone knows I’m going back to Disney.”
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