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Britain’s greatest household grows as mum-of-22 Sue Radford misses ‘scared’ daughter’s beginning

Britain’s largest family has welcomed another grandchild after Katie Radford gave birth to a healthy baby boy, but grandmother Sue was devastated to have missed the birth

sue radford
In a tense episode of 22 Kids & A Baby, we see Sue’s anguish at missing the birth(Image: Channel 5)

Sue Radford, the matriarch of Britain’s largest family, was heartbroken after missing the birth of her 13th grandchild, all because her husband Noel booked a surprise getaway.

Katie Radford, 22, the eight eldest of Sue and Noel, welcomed a baby boy named Ronnie back in October last year.

The latest episode of 22 Kids & A Baby, airing Sunday on Channel 5, reveals the emotional rollercoaster of Katie’s pregnancy journey leading up to the arrival of her son.

Katie was hoping to have her mum Sue, 49, by her side for the birth, but was left devastated when Noel, 54, booked a last-minute holiday to Dubai to celebrate the couple’s 32-year anniversary.

Katie Radford and Connor Carter
Katie Radford and Connor Carter were hoping to have Sue by their side throguh the birth(Image: Instagram/katieeradfordd)

Noel’s romantic gesture fell completely flat after Sue realised he booked the getaway just three weeks before Katie was due to give birth.

But Noel was far too excited, saying that everything was booked and paid for and told Sue not to flap.

Sue was adamant and said: “That’s too risky Noel, I don’t feel comfortable going when she’s due around that time. I can’t go Noel.

“I’ve never missed the birth of one of our grandchildren so it would just be really upsetting, it’s not a great idea.”

Which has Noel putting his foot down and ordering: “Well we’re going.”

But after getting the green light from Katie, Sue explains: “I’m still not happy that we are going, I feel like I’m having to make a decision between Noel and Katie.

“We’re gonna go and hopefully everything will be alright.”

But it all went south very quickly when the couple arrived.

sue and noel radford
The Channel 5 show includes a clip of Noel and Sue in a taxi back to the airport (Image: Channel 5)

In a tense scene, Noel confesses: “So we flew in last night, did an overnight flight, and during the flight, we got a message from Katie to say that she’d gone into labour.

“It’s not worked out. We’re back on our way home again. We’ve literally got to the hotel, sat down and rebooked the flights to go back home again. Tense times.”

Clearly not happy, Sue adds: “Obviously there was quite a lot of anxiety for me because I knew Katie really wanted me there. I was worried about how she was going to cope with labour with me not being there.”

Just two hours before their flight landed back in Manchester, Katie and Connor’s baby Ronnie was born.

Ronnie Carter
Ronnie Hudson Carter was born on October 8, 2024, weighing 7lbs 11oz.(Image: Instagram/katieeradfordd)

Sue shares: “When we landed and we got a text that he was here, we missed it but at least he’s here safe and sound and Katie was all good.

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Ronnie Hudson Carter was born on October 8, 2024, weighing 7lbs 11oz.

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