Sue Radford has 22 kids. Here's what takeaway dinner looks like in their house.

Updated January 18, 2021.

For many of us, Friday night takeaway might consist of two dishes, an entree and a large rice to share.

But for Sue and Noel Radford, their standard takeout meal looks more like catering for a conference or a movie set.

With 22 children, The Radfords have the biggest family in the UK and have featured in a series of TV shows, starting with 15 Kids And Counting in 2012.

On Friday night, Sue shared a glimpse of what it takes to feed her brood with a look at their epic takeaway feast, documented on her Instagram Stories. The enormous haul included burgers, chips, pizza, curries and kebabs, along with soft drinks.

Image: Instagram @theradfordfamily

Image: Instagram @theradfordfamily

Image: Instagram @theradfordfamily

Sue, who is 45, gave birth to her 22nd child, a baby girl called Heide, in April last year. 

The couple had their first child, Chris, back in 1989, when Sue was 14. Five years later, they had Sophie, quickly followed by Chloe, Jack, Daniel, Luke, Millie, Katie, James, Ellie, Aimee, Josh, Max, Tillie, Oscar, Casper, Alfie, Hallie, Phoebe, Archie, Bonnie and Heide.

Alfie was stillborn at 23 weeks.

Noel had a vasectomy after Sue got pregnant with James, but then had it reversed.

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“We’re addicted to having all these kids,” Noel once said. “We just love it.”

The Radfords live in Morecambe, Lancashire, where they run a successful bakery and own a 10-bedroom house.

In 2019, The Sun reported that Sue’s typical day starts at 6.30am, and finishes with her getting into bed at 11pm.

Each day, the publication reported, the family consume over eight litres of milk, three litres of juice and have three boxes of cereal at breakfast time. Weekly, they spend almost $500 at the supermarket.

Watch: Radio host Amanda Keller on watching your kids grow up. Post continues after video.

One person who can relate to the Radfords' grocery bill is Jeni Bonell, from Toowoomba, Queensland. Jeni and her husband Ray have 16 kids of their own, and Jeni has been friends with Sue for years.

“She’s seen me through some pregnancies and I’ve seen her through some pregnancies and we chat all the way through,” Jeni tells Mamamia.

Jeni and Sue got to meet face-to-face when the Radfords travelled to Australia to film the 2017 TV special 19 Kids And Counting: Down Under.

“I think it’s just really important to have somebody else who really gets where you’re at,” she says.

On Mamamia’s parenting podcast This Glorious Mess, Holly Wainwright chats to mother of 16, Jeni Bonell, about what life’s really like when you have enough kids to fill a football team.

The Bonells’ 16 children – Jesse, Brooke, Claire, Natalie, Karl, Samuel, Cameron, Sabrina, Tim, Brandon, Eve, Nate, Rachel, Eric, Damian and Katelyn – range in age from 30 to five. 

Jeni says there are so many things she loves about having so many children.

“It’s hard work and there are a lot of challenges and sacrifices that come with such a big family, but there’s hugs, there’s kisses, there’s ‘I love you’ times so many people.

"What we’ve found too, now that we’ve got adult children, is they bring back a support and a friendship into the relationship. You put all your effort into raising children and then they come back and you can have some amazing conversations. Then they bring grandchildren to you, which is even better.”

Feature image: Instagram/@theradfordfamily