Britain's biggest family: The Radfords discover gender of baby number 22

The Radford family. [Image: Channel 4]

Britain's biggest family, the Radfords, have discovered the gender of baby number 22.

Supermum Sue and doting dad Noel, from Morecambe in Lancashire, proudly revealed last week they were adding to their massive brood - again - and their new arrival was due in April next year.

And now a gender scan has confirmed whether they are having another boy or girl.

They currently have 11 boys, including son Alfie who was stillborn in 2014, with the eldest being 30-year-old Chris. And they have 10 girls, with the eldest being 26-year-old Sophie.

The couple went to hospital on Tuesday with some of their youngest children who said "it was the most excited they had ever been" as they saw their new sibling for the first time.

"Look at those little fingers," gushed mum Sue. "Look at that beautiful baby".

The family, however, will not find out the gender of the baby until tomorrow, Friday, when they will open the results with the children.

A teddy bear has been wrapped up and has either a pink or blue ribbon tied around its neck.

"We can't find out the gender of the baby until Friday because Ellie is away with school until Friday," said Sue.

"I am so dying to sneak a little peek. I think I need to hide it. The struggle is seriously real."

She added: "I can't take the suspense. I am thinking by the face; girl."

However, dad Noel believes the baby is a boy.

Sue said she was also "so relieved everything looks good with the baby, who is very healthy and very active."

The Radfords first found fame in 2012 when their lives were the focus of a Channel 4 documentary called 15 Kids and Counting.

Baby  Bonnie was the last addition to the brood in November bringing the number of children to a whopping 21.

She arrived after a swift 12 minute labour weighing 8lb 4oz - and the couple, who have been having children for three decades, vowed she would be their last and had completed their family.

They live with the majority of their kids in a 10-bed, four-storey Victorian property, which was a former care home, which they bought almost 15 years ago.

 

Sue and Noel run their own pie business and do not claim extra state benefits.

Some of the oldest offspring have since moved out and started families of their own with Sue and Noel being grandparents to four.

The Radford children are: Chris, 30, Sophie, 26, Chloe, 24, Jack, 23, Daniel, 21, Luke, 19, Millie, 18, Katie, 16, James, 15, Ellie, 13, Aimee, 13, Josh, 12, Max, 10, Tillie, eight, Oscar, seven, Casper, six, Hallie, four, Phoebe, three, and Archie, two, and Bonnie, 11 months.

Their son Alfie was stillborn in 2014. Bonnie had the same due date as Alfie.

After Archie was born, the couple said it was "strange" knowing he would be their last.

And when the entire family appeared on ITV's This Morning in January 2018, Sue said: "Archie is definitely going to be the last Radford baby."

But eldest daughter Sophie, who has three kids herself, shook her head and claimed she "can't see her mum stopping" - and she wasn't wrong as months later Sue fell pregnant with Bonnie.

Childhood sweethearts Sue and Noel's first child, Chris, was born when Sue was aged just 14.

The parents were both given up for adoption after they were born, and they decided to keep Chris and raise him as teenage parents.

They got married and had their second child, Sophie, when Sue was 17.

Noel even had a vasectomy, later reversed, after baby number nine.

The pair face a monumental task each day just to feed, clothe and ferry about their huge brood.

They spend an estimated £30,000 a year of their own money bringing up their children - including birthdays with a reported budget of £100 per child and Christmas at £100 to £250 per child.

In addition, they also have a holiday abroad each year.

And as we previously revealed, the family keep their home immaculate - as they proved in a house tour of their 'gorgeous' home.