Noel Radford, star of 22 Kids and Counting, would do well to hold his tongue on the show this weekend after he came under fire for comments he made during an episode at the start of August.
The father-of-22 was talking about a “sacrifice” he made after getting wife Sue pregnant at 13 – and viewers were not happy.
What did 22 Kids and Counting star Noel Radford say?
During the episode of 22 Kids and Counting entitled ‘Noel’s Mid-life Crisis’, Noel returned to the estate he and Sue grew up on.
“Between that cul de sac and this one, this is where I met Sue and I had to suddenly grow up,” Noel said as he explored the area, reflecting on Sue’s under-age pregnancy.
“We didn’t have time for friends and things like that,” he said.
Speaking about losing touch once the baby news came out, Noel added: “I’ve never heard from them, never seen them or anything any more. You just suddenly group up and then goodbye,” he continued sadly.
Any dreams I had were put to the waste side.
Appearing to feel sorry for himself some more, Noel then mused on the life path he could have taken, had he not became a father so young.
“What I really wanted to do was to emigrate to Australia and be a lorry driver,” he revealed.
“But you’ve just got to make so many sacrifices when you have so many kids. So any dreams I had were put to the waste side.”
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Fans slam Noel
After the episode aired, some fans of the show took to Twitter to share their thoughts – and slam Noel.
“Got to feel for Sue a little watching #22KidsandCounting. Every series is about Noel and his dreams and his goals etc and it is as though she gets forgotten about.. what about her dreams… and her goals?…” one fan tweeted.
“Noel…..’I suddenly had to grow up’….. Yes, you got a 13-year-old girl pregnant,” another said.
As well as having Noel reveal his plans before he had babies with Sue, the episode showed Noel fearing he’ll become too old to spread his wings.
“No, sorry Noel, you CHOSE to keep reproducing, so you need to give your younger children the same commitment you gave to their older siblings. You can’t just shirk and dash because it’s suddenly dawned on you that you’re getting old,” a third disgruntled viewer wrote.
22 Kids and Counting fans accuse show of having ‘storylines’
The hit series has come under fire recently, with some accusing it of having storylines.
Viewers, however, didn’t seem engaged, with many accusing the programme of being fake.
“Needs to go back to the less staged/scripted version. This is embarrassing to watch and not realistic. Shame as I used to enjoy. Will stop watching now,” one fan said.
“Sorry but this programme is more staged than Emmerdale it’s too predictable,” another said.
“I do love following you and your family…but I have to say this series seems very scripted,” a third wrote.
22 Kids and Counting airs from 8pm on Channel 5 and My5.
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