Parents-of-22 Noel and Sue Radford fight back tears as they reveal ‘heartbreaking' moment that rocked their family

The Sun

7 days ago

PARENTS of Britain's biggest family have revealed the 'heartbreaking' moment that rocked their family.
In the most recent episode of 22 Kids & Counting, which will air on Channel 5 later this evening, Sue and Noel Radford fight back tears after learning that their best friend's daughter, Sophie Walker, 17, had died.
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On 6 July 2024, Sophie's cancer battle came to a devastating end, leaving the Radford family 'broken.'
Now, during the emotional scenes of the latest episode of the Radford show, dad-of-22 Noel, 54, revealed the exact moment he received a shocking text from his close friend Jamie Walker, informing the family of Sophie's passing.
The brave teenager started a four-week course of chemotherapy shortly after being diagnosed on October 25 2017.
Over the years, she went into remission twice but relapsed four times.
She battled for seven years with Wilms tumour - a rare type of kidney cancer - and doctors discovered a tumour on her spine, which led to her tragic passing.
Sophie died with her twin sister Megan, 17, by her side, on what would have been the 10th birthday of Sue and Noel's 17th child Alfie, who was stillborn.
As Noel and his wife-of-32-years Sue fought back tears after hearing the news, Noel said: 'God, it's horrible isn't it?
'I got the text from Jamie that we've been absolutely dreading.'
Noel gave viewers a close-up look at the tragic text, which alongside broken heart emojis, read: 'Sophie has gone, mate, hopefully to a better place.'
Moments later, Noel, who recently met his birth mother for the first time since being adopted at just 10 days old, explained: 'It doesn't feel right.
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'Their 17-year-old daughter has been taken away from them.'
For Noel and Sue, sharing the devastating news with their huge family would come as a challenge, as the pie shop owner shared: "Obviously the older ones understand, but to the likes of Hallie, Phoebe, Archie, Bonnie, they don't quite understand it the same.'
The Radfords and the Walkers
THE Radford family have been friends with Rebecca's 10 kids since 2013.
Rebecca, who runs a hostel with husband Jamie, said: "We used to live in Morecambe, which is how we met the Radford family.
"When I was pregnant with the twins, I told my midwife that I was nervous about my growing family.
"My midwife told me that one of her ladies had just had her 13th baby and was doing great, which made me feel better.
"Morecambe isn't a big place, so my husband Jamie and I reached out to Sue and Noel."
The two families quickly bonded and would often go on holiday together to France or Cornwall.
In 2014, the Walkers moved to Edinburgh but remained close to the Radfords, seeing them several times a year.
Mum-of-22 Sue, 50, who had her first child at the age of 13, found herself lost for words and it was clear that the family were left equally as heartbroken as their parents, as seven-year-old Archie admitted: 'Phoebe's just came into the room and said Sophie's passed away.
'I don't really believe her, I don't really want to believe her.
'I didn't expect anything like this to happen, especially on Alfie's birthday.'
Following this, Oscar, 13, acknowledged: 'She was literally like a sister to us.
'I'm trying to distract myself. I don't want it to be in my mind all the time.'
Gutted by the news, the family's matriarch then claimed: 'Rebecca messaged to say that our babies will forever share this day.'
I didn't think this day would ever come, you always thought she'd get better and live her life and yet, here we are
Noel Radford
Distraught for their close friends, Noel added: 'I just worry about Jamie and Rebecca and the rest of the family, how they're going to cope.
'Everything they do now is going to be without Sophie.'
Later in the episode, on the day before the funeral, Noel continued: 'I didn't think this day would ever come, you always thought she'd get better and live her life and yet, here we are.'
What is Wilms tumour?
WILMS tumours are a type of kidney cancer that mainly affect children.
They are also called nephroblastomas as they develop from cells called nephroblasts.
Kidney cancer in children is rare but Wilms tumour is the most common type.
About 85 children between the ages of 0 and 14 years are diagnosed with Wilms tumour each year in the UK - mostly children under 5.
Rarely, Wilms tumours can develop in older children and very rarely, in adults.
Wilms tumours usually only affect one kidney but in fewer than 10 out of 100 children, they can affect both kidneys.
The most common symptom is a painless swelling of the abdomen.
Parents might notice a lump in the tummy when bathing the baby, or if their child suddenly jumps a nappy size.
A healthcare worker might notice a swollen tummy when the child is having a routine appointment.
Other less common symptoms include:
blood in their wee (urine)
pain caused by bleeding inside the tumour
loss of appetite
raised blood pressure
high temperature (fever)
weight loss
constipation
generally feeling unwell
being irritable due to their tummy feeling uncomfortable
shortness of breath and cough (usually if the cancer has spread to the lungs)
Two of the Radford children, Ellie and Aimee, prepared a speech for the emotional day and whilst holding back tears, 19-year-old Aimee cried: 'You would have never thought that we would be writing a goodbye to Sophie, when she's so young, had her whole life ahead of her.'
To which Ellie, 20, agreed: 'Yeah, I think that's why it's so hard to write.'
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Aimee then sobbed: 'Knowing that you're saying a goodbye is really hard.'
To this, Noel, who broke down in tears on the last series, observed: 'I'm extremely proud of Aimee and Ellie wanting to get up and speak. I couldn't do it. No matter how difficult it will be, they're gonna do it.
'Grief is always going to be hard, but focusing on the good times you've had can really help.'
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