Featured Image Credit: Instagram/@theradfordfamily
Topics: Parenting, TV And Film, Pregnancy
Rhianna Benson
Topics: Parenting, TV And Film, Pregnancy
Famed for being the matriarch of one of Britain's biggest families, many viewers of 22 Kids and Counting have wondered when exactly TV star, Sue Radford, welcomed her first of many youngsters.
The full-time mother and Channel 5 favourite has had a camera-crew following her life since 2015, when she and husband Noel were expecting their 15th baby.
Nine years and seven further children later, fans are still amazed about how devoted mother Sue manages to stay on top of her seemingly ever-growing brood.
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But, as the latest episode of the fan-favourite documentary explains, things haven't always been plain sailing for the on-screen star.
That's because, Sue welcomed her first child when she was just 14-years-old.
On the most recent instalment of the much-loved show, husband and wife duo Noel and Sue are seen shopping for a new home for their colossal family.
They explain to viewers that their decision to pack up and leave was prompted by safety concerns, after fans started appearing at their previous property.
Viewing their chosen five-bedroom property for a final time, the TV couple told viewers that not all of their 22 kids would be moving with them.
The conversation then turned to Noel explaining that he was almost 18-years-old when he first moved out of his parents home, before revealing that this was the age that he got then-girlfriend Sue pregnant.
And whilst many viewers were surprised by how young Noel was to welcome his first child, fans were left even further shocked after figuring out that Sue herself must have been just 13 when she fell pregnant for the first time.
For those unfamiliar with the show, Sue - born March 1975 - is now 48-years-old, and was 14 when she welcomed her first child, son Chris, in 1989.
She'd have therefore celebrated her 14th birthday just weeks before giving birth, meaning she became pregnant at 13.
Noel, on the other hand - born in December 1970 - would have been 17 when he and Sue conceived their little boy.
The realisation did not go down well with a handful of viewers, with many pitying Sue for having been made a mother within a year after becoming a teenager.
Commenting on Noel and Sue's move, one viewer penned on Twitter this week: "He should be in a big house, at His Majesty’s Pleasure, not looking at houses."
Another wrote online: "‘When I was 18 I left home.’ Was that because he had/was expecting a child with his 13/14 year old partner?"
"Noel Radford is lucky that he did not have to sign a certain register when he was younger", another said.
Tyla contacted Sue and Noel's representatives for comment.