Sue Radford is emotional when her dream of a big house in the country falls apart: 22 Kids and Counting returns to screens

Sue Radford has revealed that her dream of moving her giant brood to a secluded £850,000 farmhouse has been dashed.

In a new episode of 22 Kids And Counting, airing on Channel 5 on Sunday, Sue, 49, and her husband Noel, 53, who are parents to “Britain’s biggest family” based in Morecambe, prepare to move into their new home.

But his dream was shattered when the chain collapsed and the sale fell through.

Opening up to her daughter, Sue revealed she was “absolutely devastated,” but Chloe reassured her mother and reminded her of everything they already have.

Sue said: ‘We’re really devastated that we’re not going to be able to have that life in the countryside. It’s been pretty tough. Absolutely devastated. You know when you’ve got your head set on something, all those plans and hopes and dreams and then it all goes to pieces.

“It’s a bit like waking up on Christmas morning and discovering that all your Christmas presents have disappeared.”

Noel and Sue have lived in a Victorian house in Morecambe, Lancashire for 11 years.

While some of their children have since grown up and moved out, it is believed that around a dozen of their children currently live on the property with them.

They tried to sell it three years ago, but couldn’t get the price they wanted and economic difficulties forced them to stay where they were.

However, thanks to several television and social media deals, they have been able to buy a larger and more remote house.

On the latest season of 22 Kids and Counting, Sue and Noel revealed that they wanted to leave because fans kept showing up at their door, taking pictures of the house, and even wandering around their yard.

After a slow start to their home search, Noel and Sue finally found a house in the country that they said was “perfect.”

“We’ve found our dream home,” said Sue as she looked around her five-bedroom, 2,690 sq ft cottage, which was listed for sale for £850,000.

The next day Noel decided to make an offer and was delighted when it was accepted, but now they are back on the hunt.

Elsewhere in the first episode of the new season, another dream was shattered for 11-year-old son Casper when he was invited to a Premier League trial but failed to get in.

In the heartbreaking episode, Noel tried to help his son make his dream a reality by organising a tryout with scouts in Manchester.

Noel said: ‘I spoke to a friend whose son is on Liverpool’s list and he said Casper needs to be scouted. So hopefully if one top-flight club finds out about him, there might be others who find out about him and we’d have to go from there.

‘As a parent, you just want to make your children’s dreams come true as much as possible, but you’ll have to find a balance, it won’t be easy and you’ll encounter obstacles along the way.’

His 15-year-old son Max coached his younger brother in his fitness techniques and said he was trying to make Casper “faster” to compensate for his height.

Noel said his son is a great player, but his height is the only thing that goes against him: “He must be one of the smallest 11-year-olds I’ve ever seen.”

At the trials, Casper said: “I’ve come here for a football trial to impress the coaches and scouts. I want to be assessed by an academy and I hope that academy is Liverpool.”

Noel added: “It’s the first time we’ve gotten to try out for football for the Radford family, none of the other boys have done anything like this before, so I’m excited for Casper because I know at the end of the day, he’d love to be discovered.”

Unfortunately, Casper failed to make the grade, and Noel had to break the devastating news to him.

Noel said: “We got an email from the football tryout team and we were hoping that a scout would pick him up and he would join a club. That was his dream and ours too, but unfortunately he didn’t make it, he didn’t make it.”

Last week, Sue revealed her makeover by revealing that the family’s reality show was returning to screens.

Sharing the news on Instagram, Sue and her husband Noel seemed overjoyed to announce the return of 22 Kids And Counting.

Fans were delighted with the news, saying they had been “lost” without the show, with many quick to note that Sue herself had undergone a makeover for the announcement.

The celebrity mom, who previously dyed her hair brown, had added some blonder highlights for a fresh, modern look.

She also appeared to be wearing two bracelets from the luxury vintage brand Van Cleef & Arpels, adored even by the Princess of Wales.

The jewels are believed to be worth around £4,000 each and feature the brand’s well-known four-leaf clover design.

Sue has previously worn the bracelets, which appear to be the five-pattern carnelian bracelet and the diamond malachite bracelet.

On Instagram, mum-of-22 Sue said: “We have some super exciting news we’re ready to share,” while beaming Noel added: “We couldn’t wait to share this.”

Sue continued: ‘Everyone has been asking a lot when 22 Kids And Counting will be back on our screens. Well! We’re really excited to tell you that it’ll be back on Sunday 21st July on Channel 5 at 8pm.

‘We can’t wait to share everything we’ve been up to and hope you enjoy watching it!’

Sue’s new look comes just in time for the new season, which is expected to cover recent exciting events as the family continues to grow.

It is expected to include big events such as the engagement of Sue and Noel’s daughter Millie to Harley Passmore at Disneyland Florida during the family vacation.

Millie and her fiancé have a son, Chester, born in February 2022, and daughters Ophelia Jo and Elodie Jade, born in September 2020 and September 2023.

In May, Sue and Noel’s daughter Katie, 21, announced her pregnancy and revealed she was having a boy.

The eighth child of Britain’s “biggest family” shared the happy news alongside her long-time boyfriend Connor Carter, who also appeared on the reality show.

In a January episode, the father-to-be moved into the Radford home after he and Katie convinced Sue and Noel that he was willing to do his part and help out with chores.

The Radfords are also expected to share an update on their house hunt, after keeping quiet about it on social media in recent months.

The big family first rose to fame in 2012 when 22 Kids And Counting first aired.

The most recent addition to Noel and Sue’s huge brood was Heidie, who was born in April 2020, just five months before their granddaughter Ophelia arrived.

Between them, the couple are parents to Chris, 34, Sophie, 29, Chloe, 28, Jack, 26, Daniel, 24, Luke, 22, Millie, 22, Katie, 21, James, 19, Ellie, 18, Aimee, 17, Josh, 16, Max, 14, Tillie, 13, Oscar, 11, Casper, 10, Hallie, eight, Phoebe, seven, Archie, six, Bonnie, four, and Heidie, three.

Sue had previously said they were “proud to be Britain’s biggest family” but admitted she had originally only planned to have three children.

She added: “We are addicted to children, but, as is often the case, it is not a bad addiction because it is motivated by love. We have plenty to go around.”

22 Kids And Counting returns to Channel 5 on Sunday, July 21 at 8 p.m.