Original subtitles

SALLY LINDSAY: 'Meet Britain's biggest family.'

Whoa'. SUE CHUCKLES

'Twenty-two kids...' Aw, look.

'Jen grandhds...' She's perfect.

'..Seven dogs...' SUE SHRIEKS

'..all growing up fast.'

Whoo!

GIGGLES

'And the bigger the kids, the bigger the problems.'

It's horrible for me, that situation.

I'm just not BLEEP happy.

'From relationship crises...'

She is a bit of a hothead, and she stresses out quite a bit.

I'm facing life as a single mum.

The worst thing he could do is cheat.

Who's that? She's got trust issues.

'..To runaway children.' Look at this headline.

Oh, my God. Is that her?

'The family face pregnancy panics...'

'The baby's heart rate has shot up.'

My god. SUE GASPS

'..and fame brings trespasser trouble...'

When it's your house, it's just not OK.

'..leading to life-changing decisions.'

That is stunning. Oh, we've bought a house.

CH EERING 'But whatever life throws at them,

'the Radfords are there for family and friends...'

What's happened? Cancer's back.

'We'd travel to the ends of the Earth to save her.'

'..however big the problem.'

Come on, then, let's go! 'This time...'

Because she's our last, she'll always be the baby.

'..It's Heidie's last day in nursery.'

Last child syndrome.

'But is Sue ready for it?' That'll be so weird, won't it?

You aren't actually gonna have any of the kids at home.

I feel a bit sad.

My dad doesn't seem hisself. 'Painful memories for Noel.'

First time I met my birth mother was also the last.

Whenever he does talk about it, he does get upset.

'The reality of meeting his birth mother again hits home.'

I don't think I realised how much emotion maybe was involved.

SIGHS

Whoo! 'And on a summer holiday...'

0h, my gosh!

'..Can Harley seize his moment?'

'In this house of 22 kids...'

Mum? Yeah?

In the drawer!

'..There's always been a constant stream of beginnings and ends.'

Bye.

'One child would finish something, and another was ready to start.'

Plaits, please.

'But today, that all ends.'

Hello! There you go darling.

'After Heidie, there is no new beginning...

'..because this is the last time.'

This is our last child to go to nursery.

Having children has always been such a massive part of our life,

it's never properly dawned on me that this clay would actually come.

Heidie, can you go and get dressed?

I'm not sure that the last time is something

that anyone is every ready for.

But you've just got to embrace it

and make sure you live every second the best you can.

'Easy for you to say, Noel, as for the last three decades,

'nursery's been a part of Sue's life.

'But the Radfords' supply chain is finally coming to an end.'

It's such a long time, isn't it?

I mean, it's obviously been part of my life

to have children around for so long.

HEIDIE BABBLES

Ancl it's gonna be quite upsetting... Yeah.

...when we don't have any more little Radfords in nursery.

Be on my lonesome.

I feel a bit sad. We have to brush your hair.

'Not everyone's in mourning.'

when'. SUE LAUGHS

Well, there is that. Every cloud.

'To me, it's just great.

'We're all breaking up for the summer holidays, this.'

Just... She's growing up, she's ready for school,

and that's it.

'Nursery life for your average two-child family

'is fairly brief...

'..taking only seven years

'to go from the birth of their first child

'to the second leaving nursery.

'For the Radfords, it has taken them a whopping 35 years.

'When first-born Chris left his nursery,

'the Prime Minister was john Major,

'and the number one record was by Wet, Wet, Wet.'

I vaguely remember Chris' last clay at nursery

before he went to school... cos they did, like, a little play.

Can you remember Chris' last clay at nursery?

I can barely remember yesterday. No, I know. Not a chance.

'Noel's not grasping what it means to mothers like Sue and Chloe.'

Yeah, like, I think I'd feel like...

When Mila goes to school, I'm gonna feel really emotional.

At the minute, Heidie will have, like, a few clays off in nursery. Mm.

What's nice about that

is that you can get to spend one-on-one time.

Yeah, and you still have that time with them. Yeah.

Whereas when you go to the school, like, that's it now. At all.

Like, whenever all of the other ones have gone to school,

I've always obviously had another one at home. Yeah.

That'll be so weird, won't it?

You aren't actually gonna have any of the kids at home.

There'll be nobody. Yeah, yeah, it's a huge deal.

I know how much you're gonna miss it.

Last child syndrome.

You just want them to stay little forever, don't you?

It is really emotional for me.

Hi.

Come on, then, let's go.

'Tissues at the ready, Sue. It's the last nursery drop.'

Being a mum is my identity.

Trainers, get them on.

I can't ever imagine ever of being anything else.

Casper, there's no way you've brushed your teeth in that time.

'You just get so used to having little ones in the house.'

I've got your bag, Hallie, it's here.

'The house is just gonna be so empty.'

I did it!

It is such a massive thing, isn't it?

Like, your last child going to school.

What am I gonna do with myself?

'Coming up...' just waiting for the social worker.

'Noel's adoption journey...'

Becoming a bit more real. '..takes a big step forward.'

There's always that danger that he could get hurt.

You know, his birth mum

might not want to have anything to do with him. 'And...'

Cookie! 'Sue channels her motherly energy

'into something new...'

Through the tunnel. '..with disastrous consequences.'

She's going back the other way.

I don't think that went too great, did it, really?

SALLY LINDSAY: 'Today, Heidie may be spending her last day

'at nursery school,

'but it's also a big day for Noel...

'in which he hopes to learn more about one of the biggest events

'in his life.'

I think I was around seven, eight year old

when my mum and clad told me that I was adopted.

I do remember going to school the next clay, saying,

"Oh, yeah, look at me, I'm adopted, I'm special," and all the rest.

And all my mates and things were not interested and didn't believe me.

'Noel was given up for adoption when he was just a few days old,

'so he has never really met his birth mother.

'But that could be about to change.'

just waiting for the social worker

who's coming to see me just to talk through the process.

So, she should be here soon.

So, yeah, I guess it's all getting a bit nearer.

I guess it's maybe the older you get, the more curious you get.

Ancl the other thing is that, you know, the clock's ticking.

I'm not getting any younger. She won't be getting any younger.

I can't be leaving that another ten years or so, can I?

Ancl then find out that she's died then have regrets for not doing it.

Not been down this way for a long time.

'Eighteen months ago, he came close.'

Is that possibly where I was born?

In that building there?

'Retracing his footsteps to where it all began.'

This would've been the first and the last time

I would have been with my birth mum.

I came out one door, and my birth mum went the other.

'In the end, he couldn't go through with it.

'Something was holding him back.'

Noel is always a really emotional person

when he talks about his adoption.

He can never really hold his feelings in.

And, you know, there's always that danger that he could get hurt.

You know, his birth mum

might not want to have anything to do with him.

'This time, Noel hopes to go one step further.'

See, the dog's barking. See if she's at the door.

Hi. 'Hiya, I'm just outside.

'I can't get through the gate.' Oh, right, I'll come and let you in.

One second.

'For Noelto be reunited with his birth mother,

'the authorities will need to contact her

'to make sure she wants to meet him.'

Well, I'm just sort of hoping to find out

how long the process might take, and...

'The meeting is so private that not even Sue is invited.'

I think he's definitely feeling a little bit nervous.

'Sue understands as she, too, was also adopted.'

Whilst Noel is really wanting to meet his birth mum,

I'm very much the total opposite to Noel.

I... I just... I don't have any interest in that.

But I think with Noelwanting to do that, then that's fine.

You know, you have to support him with what he wants to do.

I think it will definitely help him.

I think he's just got a lot of questions

that he'd like answers for.

'After 45 minutes...' Bye.

The meeting has ended.'

She's gone. She was just asking me questions, like...

I think it's just to see if you're...

If you're OK mentally. Yeah, mentally stable to...

Yeah, yeah. Because she did say there's some things...

There might not be anything at all. But there might be.

There might be, and some things

might be upsetting to you type of thing. Oh, right.

'Noel will now have to wait to see

'if his birth mother wants to meet him.

'But he's learnt something about his brief time with her.'

I found out today I had another name, my birth name.

Robert. Oh, yeah.

It's a bit weird because it's never even crossed my mind

if I had a different name.

It's like, yeah, just a bit weird, you know,

that my birth mum named me.

It's not something I was...

sure whether she would have clone or not, really.

It almost identifies me as somebody else, doesn't it?

You know, that's a life of Robert that I could have led

rather than the life of Noel.

What have you clone at nursery today?

Did you play outside?

'After 35 years, Sue and Noel's days

'of putting their children through nursery have come to an end.'

No more nursery.

Big girl school.

It was a really emotional clay, picking Heidie up from nursery,

the realisation that I'm never gonna ever do

a nursery drop off, pick up.

That's it - nursery is clone for us.

Are you gonna like going to big girl school?

'I mentioned it to Mum a couple of times.

'I think it'll be nice for her to actually have time

'to do what she wants to do through the week

'rather than just being Mum.'

Go out for dinners and stuff. A lady of leisure.

CHUCKLES

'New chapter for me.'

You've got to always look forwards. It's not healthy to look back.

You look lovely in purple today.

At the end of the clay, it's such a lovely achievement

to watch them grow into the little humans that they are.

You want a trampoline? Yeah.

I'm feeling positive about Heidie going to school, and...

School's a good thing for them.

You know, they start to, you know,

learn lots more, make new friends.

No, don't climb on somebody's wall. HEIDIE CHUCKLES

But we've got the six-weeks holidays to get through first.

'But there's no rest for the wicked.

'Heidie and Sue have a 30-minute journey

'to meet up with Sue's mum, Christine.'

On the clays off that Heidie's not at nursery,

we'll go through to my mum's.

Ancl Heidie loves it.

In fact, throughout the week, she's like,

"When are we going to Nana's?"

Come on, darling. Come on.

Come on. Mummy's got you some sandwiches and some drink.

Come on, darling. Can you manage it?

'I love the bond that we have.'

Oh, thanks, Sue. That's smashing. Come on, darling.

Ancl just seeing how she is with my kids is just... It's lovely.

You all right? Yeah, you?

Yep. You want a coffee and a drink, darling?

Come on, with Nana.

Oh!

You got your boots on? Now, they're posh, aren't they?

'Being Super Nana to 22 kids would be daunting to most people.

What else do you want to eat? 'But not Christine.'

'Well, I love children.'

I, you know, and I've always...

I'm one of seven. My mother was one of ten.

'Sue, she's gone over the top.

'Twenty-two's quite a lot.' CHRISTINE CH UCKLES

But we've always helped her.

Do you want a drink as well? Oh, you've got some juice here.

I used to go on call every day when she had the babies, you know.

I had them a lot, but we coped. We coped through it all.

And to be honest, it's as if Noel was made for her.

They were made for each other, and they're very happy.

'They've done well.'

There was our Sue when she was a baby.

She's altered a lot since then.

I've always had the really lovely support

from my mum and my clad growing up.

That's my husband. He was quite a joker, actually.

He used to make you fall about laughing.

'Four years ago,

'the family changed forever when Sue's dad, Colin, died.'

Married in 1966.

Good fun over the years.

He liked sailing and built a boat in our kitchen.

He had the cheek to say,

"You can go in it, try it out, see if it's all safe."

I said, "Thanks very much."

He said, "You're a better swimmer than me."

SHE CHUCKLES

The memories you never get back.

My dad's been such a huge loss to me and my mum and my brother.

Our children, his grandchildren, really miss him dearly.

And it's sad to know that he never got to meet Heidie.

You know, my mum lost her best friend, her lifelong partner,

and she's found that really, really hard to deal with.

Cutting the cake.

When you lose somebody that you've had a lifetime with,

it's not easy.

It gets on top of you when you're on your own.

I live a different life now.

Thanks for that. Give Nana a kiss.

Since losing my clad, it's really made me realise

that spending time with loved ones

is really, really precious, and you just...

you've got to make the most of the time that you've got.

SUE: Oh, well, it's just us now. DOG WHINES

'With Heidie now permanently absent from daytime playtimes,

'Sue has had to refocus her days.'

This is how it's going to be, just... just you sausages.

That's why you get so many clogs because... I love them.

...the house is getting quieter, which you don't like,

so you've replaced it with noisy clogs instead.

But they don't answer back, though, Noel.

'Sue must be barking mad.

'She's now got nearly as many dogs as kids.'

I absolutely love my clogs, I really do.

I would have a complete house full if I could,

but I think seven is enough, really.

'And her seven hounds of love are...

'Lola the collie,

'three French bulldogs, Ivy, Bluebell and Mabel,

'and three miniature dachshunds, Minnie and Dolly.

'And last but not least...'

Cookie! Everybody loves you, don't they?

Hey? She's so friendly.

'Sue thinks Cookie has star potential.

'To put her theory to the test,

'they've entered a prestigious dog show.

'Cookie will compete in three events.

'The Radfords believe she can win them all.'

I'm looking forward to seeing how well she does,

but she gets very, very excited when she sees other clogs, so...

She just wants to go and play.

'It's straight into event number one,

'the waggiest tail competition.'

I think she's got quite a good chance.

Wagging her tail now like something crazy.

Do you think she'll win? Cos she does, like, waggle her tail!

Cookie can win.

'But in the pen, there are plenty of other dogs

'with energetic nether regions.'

Oh, my goodness, the competition looks quite tough.

Cookie!

'OK, Cookie, it's your turn to shine.

'Waggle, Wa99le-'

Come on, Cookie!

'Oh, no, Cookie.'

She usually never stops wagging,

but then she didn't even wag her tail.

I don't think that went too great, did it, really?

She sat down on the ground and then didn't wag her tail.

Look, Mum, she's not... she's not stopped now. I know!

NOEL: Here we go. 'The results are in.'

In first place was Chris.

'Poor Cookie.'

She really let the team down, didn't she?

She's let herself down, her family down.

I think the competitiveness has maybe kicked in a little bit.

We want to win something.

'And next is the agility test.'

She learnt to go through the tunnel a few weeks ago,

so I think she'll be able to do that.

Cookie, Cookie!

Come on, then. Go on, then. Go on!

'Well, she's got the going in part right.'

Cookie!

'Now she just needs to exit.'

Cookie! Come on! Cookie! Cookie!

'Any moment now.' Come here. Cookie!

'But at the wrong end.'

Come here! Come on, Cookie!

'Cookie has fluffed her lines again.'

Come here!

It was embarrassing.

I just wanted to get in the tunnel

and not come out until they'd all gone.

'It's the final competition

'and Cookie's last chance to shine.'

Next is the dog the judge most wants to take home.

Can you think of any plus points? She's not naughty.

She gives great hugs and cuddles and kisses.

Yeah, she does.

'At last, a category that plays to Cookie's strengths.'

Who wouldn't want to take her home?

Look at her.

She's very cute, very lovable.

'But she's up against some real charmers here.'

There, aww...

There's some gorgeous clogs, though, isn't there?

Some lovely ones!

This is the big one. Now this is a bit tense.

WOMAN: We have the Radfords. Yeah, we've got Cookie.

Oh, my God! Hello!

'Go for it, Cookie.'

You're amazing!

Truly a bobby-dazzler. Thank you.

Thank you so much, sweetie.

'I think there might be a chance.'

I think she really did... She loved her.

Has she put any other clogs on her lap?

No. There you go. First.

NOEL: I think the scores are in, Sue.

'It's the moment of truth.'

OK, so, can we give a big round of applause

for first place...

...is Dorothy with Laura Craig.

She's an incredible pomeranian.

'Cookie's failed again.'

Well, that's the last time we do that.

'Cookie thinks she should have won. This is embarrassing.

'But...'

Somebody clearly knows who's coming second.

In second place, we have the Radfords with Cookie!

Whoo! She is incredible.

'Right at the end, pride is restored.'

All those kisses secured the deal.

You did it! Yeah, she's a winner, then.

There's the winner, look.

Put this on.

Whoo-hoo! We got second place.

She is definitely the first hound to have won anything.

Maybe this is gonna be a start of, like,

winning many rosettes over the years for her.

'Who wouldn't want to take Cookie home with them?'

Well clone, Cookie!

'A quieter house may not be to Sue's liking.

'But there's one place upstairs

'she's always happy to be left alone.'

I am one of these people that loves a bath.

It's definitely my safe space.

Nice bubble bath and just chill and relax.

I could stay in the bath for hours.

'Not now, Cookie.'

PHONE RINGS

Mum, Nana's ringing!

Can you answer it? Tell her I'll call her back.

OK. Hi, Nana.

Yeah?

Mum, Nana said there is police around her house.

SUE: I'm just going to my mum's

because she's said that the police are there.

SALLY LINDSAY: 'Sue is making the 30-minute drive

'to her mum Christine's house.'

I'm just gonna go up this way.

'It's a journey she's making more and more.'

My mum definitely rings both me and my brother

a lot more as she's got older.

Since my clad passed away,

my role has definitely changed, and my brother's.

We obviously have to be there a lot more for Mum

because she's on her own,

and you've got to obviously be a lot more supportive and help her out.

I'm very lucky in the fact that my mum

is very much still kind of with it.

She goes into town with her friends, goes shopping

and still very much does all of that.

But you just don't know what's around the corner, do you?

Like, my clad was very fit and active and healthy,

and then, you know, he got cancer and passed away within four months.

'I mean, most people don't ever want their parents to get old, do they?'

You just want your parents to stay at a young age

but just never get old.

'There's no sign of the police. Hopefully, it was nothing serious.'

What's been happening?

There was a police van in the cul-de-sac,

and it had Crime Squad.

Somebody in the cul-de-sads been broken into.

The police had been, told everybody in the cul-de-sac what had happened.

I don't know, it's a weird situation,

and then he come round, and...

Ancl that one over there, the one behind you,

had he got burgled? Yeah.

Somebody had gone into his front door

and took all his, like...

He has a lot of musical equipment.

SUE GASPS

Did you hear anything?

I noticed this morning the fence was down,

and that's what worried me, so everything has happened at once.

Oh, clear.

'At the same time as two break-ins,

'Christine's fence has also been damaged.'

'I was worried. I thought, "My gosh, has somebody been in?" '

Lift it up.

Just hold it up a little bit, if you can.

'I think it might just be from the wind.'

Now that Heidie's not gonna be at nursery any more

and going to school,

it definitely feels more like I'm gonna be there

to parent my mum more.

I think it's definitely in my DNA to mother somebody.

Right, now push it.

She's getting that bit older,

she doesn't have my clad around any more,

and she does seem to worry herself about things

that even just a few years ago

she really wouldn't have worried herself about.

Oh, has it stuck on?

Thanks, that's better than it was. It's just to stop it...

'With the panic over...'

I think you've clone a damn good job there, Sue.

'..Sue's convinced Noel's state-of-the-art CCTV system...'

If there's somebody around, put my cameras up...

'..and Darcie's sharp teeth...' A good deterrent, is a dog.

'..Should be enough to keep Christine safe.'

Oh! Anyway, thanks for that, Sue.

Mums are there to be looked after, aren't they?

But there is still one issue outstanding.

When Colin first died, I did have the kids more.

I had them here, and they went in the hot tub.

They enjoyed it, and we went walking.

But now I don't see them as much, you know.

I do like to see them, I've got to admit.

'Over to you, Sue.'

Leave it with me, Mum.

'It will soon be the summer holidays

'and a fab trip to Florida.

'A bit warmer than here, then.' Mummy's coming.

'Amongst the 26 travellers will be Millie and her family.'

Do you want me to come down? 'Partner Harley...'

Millie, I'm gonna have to leave the pram here! Why?

Cos it's a bit rocky, and I won't be able to push it.

'..And children Ophelia, Chester and nine-month-old Elodie.'

just leave it at the bottom of the ramp. Yeah, OK.

'Adapting to a growing family has not been easy.'

Having two is like having two children,

but having three is like having 15 children.

There's definitely not gonna be any more now.

'Sounds like you're ready for your holiday.'

Come on, then. Urgh, you got sand all over your hands!

Should Daddy do your name?

'Ophelia, Millie's eldest child,

'was born before she and Harley got together.'

Come on, then, princess.

'I think Ophelia gets on really well with Harley.'

He's very good to her, a very good clad.

Erm, obviously, she's never met her clad,

so technically, she doesn't actually know any different.

I'm just going shopping, so you enjoy having the children.

Bye-bye!

Right, where's the washing-up liquid?

CH ESTER CRIES Mummy's gone out.

'At the age of 23,

'most young men might be focused on enjoying a life of freedom.'

Wow.

ELODIE SHOUTS

'But not Harley.'

Roll over. Whoo!

Having kids is totally the best thing

what's ever happened to me.

It's changed me into a better person.

Like, it's made me realise there's more to life.

They're not coming off!

Are you helping?

Like, if I didn't meet Millie, I don't know where I'd be.

What size are they?!

'I didn't really have, like, a very good childhood.'

We lost my sister when I was about ten.

'She had an asthma attack.

'Then a few years after that, I lost my clad.'

Ancl from then, it just went... it just went all downhill.

'Didn't really go to school. Couldn't really function.

'Just didn't really do anything with my life.'

You're such a big girl.

So I think that's where it's all came from, to be honest,

me growing up with a hard past,

and now obviously changed into a better life.

Shall we dry its hair? Yeah.

HARLEY IMITATES HAIRDRYER

'Harley wants to make up for lost time

'and has big plans for his family.'

Ophelia is not mine by blood,

but obviously, I'd like her to be my own child.

Wow. It's so messy.

What, my hair's messy? Yeah!

OPHELIA LAUGHS

I love you.

'I've always been in her life since she was, like, four, five month.

'She always calls me Dad.'

Yummy.

Daddy can play- Daddy can play?

Yeah.

Can I have a sweet?

'She means the world to me.

'I absolutely love her, and she is ace.'

You pull it...

Ah! No, do it, "Ah!"

'I do want her to be mine.'

Like, down on papers.

Ancl I have flower cupcakes.

GASPS Can I eat that now?

Not yet. You have to eat food, yeah?

'When the family are in Florida, Harley is planning a surprise.'

My plan is asking Millie if I can adopt Ophelia

because I love her so much.

Elodie, guess what? Daddy needs to ask Mummy something.

ELODIE SHOUTS Am I allowed to ask her?

Yeah? Yay!

'Adoption is very much on Noel's mind.

'It's been two weeks since the meeting

'to discuss the possibility

'of an introduction to his birth mother.

'But he's still not sure he can go through with it.'

My clad doesn't seem himself. He has been a bit quieter at work.

SUE: Noel has been more upset more than usual.

You can tell whenever he does talk about it, he does get upset.

It definitely does really bother him.

NOEL: Some of me says, "Yes, I would like to meet my birth mum."

Some of me says, "No."

'I don't think I realised how much emotion maybe was involved.

'When I talk about my adoption,

'it does upset me about different things.'

And really, I don't understand what it is, what I get upset about.

'To try and uncover how Noel is feeling,

'he's been referred to a specialist.'

Hiya. Nice to see you.

Ancl you. You all right? Going round into the...?

Going up that way. Is that OK?

Yeah, yeah. Fine, yeah.

'Kath is a psychotherapist.'

CATH: What you're here today, really, to explore

is how you're feeling about the potential meeting.

What are your thoughts now, what are you feeling?

Erm...

I think I'd like to meet her, yeah.

Sort of thank her for giving me up, really,

cos I had the best life ever. Aw, that's nice.

Yeah. And so, what...

what do you want to explore in here?

L-I don't know, I just guess, why do I get upset about it?

Cos I'm not bothered about seeing her, you know.

If she wants to see me, that's fine, that's good.

If she doesn't want to, I'm not bothered.

Oh, you're not bothered if she doesn't want to see you? No. No.

I don't look at...

I don't look at my birth mum as my mum. Yeah.

It's just somebody, you know,

if you want to meet up and say hello, that's it.

If not, that's fine. It doesn't matter.

That feels strange to me,

that if she doesn't want to meet you or does,

either way won't bother you.

It feels quite strange.

It feels... Yeah, I can see that, why people will think that, but...

that's just the way I feel, and you know that. Yeah.

'I think he's probably kidding himself that he doesn't care.

'Of course he cares.'

It's a defence mechanism, really,

to save himself from feeling any feelings of rejection

or any feelings of being unlovable or unloved or anything like that.

'Cath needs to uncover

'what's triggered Noel's sudden change in behaviour.'

It's just, I've always found it difficult to talk about.

That's the thing.

Er, and I just never understand why,

just get all emotional.

What brings it on?

Is it every time that you think about the meeting, or...?

What... What specifically do you think it is?

My mum.

Your mum? Mm-hm.

What I call my mum, yeah.

Are they both still with you? No, my clad is, my mum's not.

How long ago did you lose your mum? Er...

It's OK.

Look, just sit with this for a minute, just sit there.

I think it's four years this year, or is it five? I'm not sure.

'Noel's adopted mum was Valery.

'He lived with her and his dad from being just a few days old.'

Meeting your birth mum,

you feel somehow like a betrayal or something, then, or...?

No, it's not that. I just...

I just loved my mum to bits. Aw.

SUE: 'Noel's mum, Val, was lovely.'

When Noel lost his mum, it definitely hit him hard.

Because I'd only lost my dad about five months before his mum passed,

so that year was such a hard year for us to get through.

Do you want to talk a bit about your mum?

I don't... My mum was just...

just a lovely person, just very calm.

Er...

She wasn't strict but we knew, you know,

if we were stepping out of line.

She never, ever once swore or... lost her temper. Aww.

Ancl, yeah, just... just a lovely woman. Lovely.

Is there part of you that doesn't want another mum

because you've got one mum? Yeah.

You're still... It looks like you've not...

come to terms with that, really, still?

No, I miss my mum. I bet you do.

What you're feeling is perfectly normal in this situation.

'I think the fragility is more related

'to the loss of his adoptive mum.'

They obviously were... had a really close relationship,

and his overriding thing is wanting to thank his birth mother

for giving him up for adoption

cos he feels he's had this amazing life with a wonderful mum,

and I think all that emotion, I think a lot of that is grief.

I guess maybe she's right

in thinking that it's...

I'm still upset about losing my mum a couple of years ago. Er...

Cos, yeah... Yeah, maybe that's... I just... I don't know.

But it feels nice to get a little bit off my chest and talk about it.

'Noel has learnt the real cause of his grief and uncertainty...

'..but is he any clearer on meeting his birth mother?'

I think actually, yeah, meeting her would make me feel better, 100%.

My mum, you know, she would...

she would be happy for me to meet my birth mum.

It's something she said herself, you know, "Yeah, do it."

If I do meet her, it will see the life that I could have led,

you know, the life that Robert would have had with this lady.

If it takes months and months to sort out and see her, that's fine.

It's been 53 years, so it can wait another little longer, can't it?

'Coming up...

'A summer holiday...

'ends with an explosive surprise...

'..but will Harley blow his big moment?'

SALLY LINDSAY: 'The school summer holidays are finally upon us.

'Six glorious weeks for us all to relax, de-stress and tune out.

'Noel and Sue, on the other hand...'

School holidays for us, just a nightmare.

They're eating everything.

Breakfast usually starts around 7am

and finishes around 3pm.

Ancl then you just find yourself cleaning all clay long.

Be one in, make a mess, out, another one in, make a mess, out.

So after the kids have had a holiday,

yeah, I could really do with a holiday myself.

'Never mind, Noel and Sue -

'you have a trip to Florida to look forward to.

'But first, just a small matter to attend to.'

My mum.

I've been concerned about her being on her own,

not seeing much of the kids.

I've just been a lot more worried about her.

It is quite hard living further away,

you know, because I'm about half an hour drive,

so it is harder not just living round the corner like we used to.

'Sue has enlisted some already bored kids

'to help with a typically-Radford solution.'

Oh, yeah, Nana would like that, wouldn't she?

We said that we do Nana a room in the house

so that she could come and stay whenever she wants to.

What's the best thing about Nana coming to stay?

You love your Nana hugs, don't you?

So, it's a bit of a home away from home for her.

She can come and stay in this bedroom,

come and stay for a bit.

We've got some pictures of my mum and clad over there,

some nice blankets on the bed,

new duvet and a nice little lamp for her.

Da-dah!

'When Nana Christine comes to stay,

'she might find her room is more popular than she thought.'

Yeah.

Let's pop Nana a dressing gown on the door.

Oh, look, Nana loves doing crosswords as well, doesn't she?

So let's leave that there for her. Mummy.

Yeah, Nana loves chat magazines and stuff.

Let me read this.

Do you want to put it on the bed for Nana? Mm...

'Christine's home from home is almost done.'

NOEL: This is nice, isn't it? Do you think my mum will like it?

Yeah, I do, I think she will.

'Time to let Christine know.'

Hiya, Mum. We've got a room ready for you, Mum.

It looks great. So next time you're over,

you can stay if you want?

It'll be lovely to get my mum over, but I think the only challenge

that we're going to face is getting her away from Darcie.

All right, then, see you soon, Mum.

Bye, Nana, see you soon.

Bye, Mum. Love you, bye.

Come on.

'A change maybe as good as a rest,

'but sometimes, rest is best.

'So today, the family are off on their jollies...

'..back to a place they once considered moving to.'

The thing with Florida is that it is the perfect place for kids.

We love the weather.

'Just a great place to have fun, isn't it?' 'Yeah.'

'There will be a clay when they want to go on holiday

'with their friends, not come with Mum and Dad.

'So, you know, while they do, we're just going to make the most of it.'

So excited!

They can't wait to get on this flight.

The plane is there. We're going to Florida.

'Amongst the kids and grandkids going away

'are Millie and her partner,

'a rather anxious Harley.'

This is the first time I've ever left the country.

I've never been on an aeroplane before, no.

'Hold on tight, Harley!'

'I'm slightly nervous of flying.'

But I'm not as much nervous as asking Millie

if I can adopt Ophelia.

'4,000 miles later...'

We are in Florida!

Casper, down to the side.

Like Mickey's ears, isn't it? Look how big that is!

Dead cool, isn't it? Look at the waves.

Oh, my God, it's huge!

I kept getting chucked under.

I think going to Florida, it's just one of them places

where we have so much fun, the kids love it.

If the kids are loving it, Mum and Dad are loving it.

Hold on, Bonnie!

'Everyone's having fun.

'Did I say everyone?' You want to come and sit with Mummy?

No? Are you OK?

Whoo!

I think we love Florida - guaranteed nice, hot, sunny weather.

Oh, my God! My God! Theme parks.

You have to be still a kid at heart, don't you?

Yeah, and we definitely are.

Oscar, Casper, what did you think?

'Amongst the noisy fun, one man is unusually quiet.'

Yeah, Harley was all a bit... a bit odd, wasn't he?

He was a bit on edge, wasn't he? A bit like, "What's he up to?"

He wasn't his normal self.

'You could tell that he'd obviously got something on his mind.'

Harley's like... He's like a pig in muck, isn't he?

I just thought, he's just behaving a little bit oddly.

He wasn't normal Harley.

I was going to ask Millie about Ophelia,

but I've decided I'm going to ask her something else.

Because it was actually his idea to go... in the evening,

to go and watch the fireworks, wasn't it?

I've normally got an inkling when Harley's up to something,

but he wasn't acting suspicious.

'He's not, is he?'

Definitely had a bit of Harley in the proposal.

No, my nails!

He dropped the ring, and that's just typical Harley.

Nothing ever goes straight forward for him.

Where's it gone? Oh, no!

No. No, where's it gone?

Where's it gone? Oh, no.

NOEL: He's not lost it? He has not lost it. No, he has.

Yeah, I actually have.

This could only happen to Harley.

'They've found it!

'Thank goodness for that.'

Oh, gosh, bless him.

NOEL: Oh, well clone, Harley.

Aw, I'm shaking.

CHEERING

'She said yes! Aww.'

Honestly, I was shaking!

'It's been ages since the last wedding,

'so it's bound to be a big one.'

We've got a wedding to prepare for.

'It's so exciting. This is a big thing for us.'

You can't beat a good old wedding, can you?

Ancl who doesn't love a bit of wedding planning?

Just hope Millie doesn't turn into bridezilla.

THEY GIGGLE Can you imagine!

Oh, no, she will turn into bridezilla.

'Harley has seized his moment.

'Maybe it's time you seize yours!

'Remember, if there's something you've been meaning to say,

'say it.

'If you've a hatchet to bury,

'bury it.

'And if you haven't told someone you love them recently,

'then tell them.

'If you need to apologise, then promise me you won't wait.

'Because you never know if the next time is the last time.

'Next series...'

Millie and Harley is getting married,

and it's, like, a very big experience.

'..Excitement builds...'

We've got this one. We have this one.

'..For the biggest wedding in Morecombe.'

Casper's excited to wear his Dickie bow tie.

Oh, I love bow ties.

'But will it go smoothly?'

Are we doing the right thing?

I'm not sure I could go through with this.

'Katie and Connor have a little surprise.'

CHEERING

Katie and Connor, who'd have thought?

'And will Noel finally meet his birth mum?'

I'm nervous of hearing something that, er, I don't wanna hear.

Ancl I think it's something that could either make or break him.