Sue Radford is left emotional in the latest episode of 22 Kids and Counting after learning about a heartbreaking tragedy in her family.
During a conversation with her mum Christine, the mum-of-22 discovers that one of her relatives died in a devastating accident when he was just five years old.
Sue becomes visibly upset as the story of the tragic death unfolds.
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22 Kids and Counting: Sue Radford’s family tragedy
In the latest episode, Sue and husband Noel are exploring their family histories. Both were adopted and are keen to learn more about their relative on their adoptive side.
While visiting her mum Christine for a chat over coffee, Sue – who has no desire to ever meet her birth mother – asks about other members of the family and whether anyone else had large families.
However, the conversation soon turns sombre when Christine begins speaking about her brother Bernard.
She explains: “There was six of us all together. Our Keith and our Victor. There was Joan and our Joyce and me. And our Bernard. But, um, Bernard died.”
Christine then recounts the tragic accident that claimed his life.
“My dad shouted to Bernard, he ran across the road and a coal lorry ran him over,” she says.
Sue immediately puts her hand to her mouth as the heartbreaking story sinks in.
She then picks up Bernard’s death certificate and reads the details aloud.
“So he passed away on September 15, 1942. He was only five.”
Sue reflects on how devastating the loss must have been, especially as she thinks about her own five-year-old daughter Heidi.
“That’s like losing Heidi because she’s five,” she tells her mum.
Christine reveals she had not yet been born when the accident happened, adding: “I wasn’t born then.
“That must have been a terrible shock for anybody, mustn’t it?”
‘It’s such tragic circumstances’
Christine goes on to describe Bernard as having blonde hair and blue eyes, ‘just like their dad’.
Speaking to the camera afterwards, Sue admits she cannot imagine what her grandparents must have gone through losing a child in such tragic circumstances.
Looking emotional, she says: “I can’t even imagine what they went through losing a child like that.
“It’s such tragic circumstances. You go out with your little boy one day and then you don’t come home with them.
“I can’t imagine. How would you ever deal with that?
“It must have been so incredibly difficult. Especially when they had other children to look after.”
Elsewhere in the episode, Noel also uncovers shocking details about his own family history.
He discovers that one of his relatives was involved in what has been described as “the murder of the century”.
- 22 Kids and Counting airs at 8pm on Channel 5 on Sunday March 8, 2026.
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