22 Kids and Counting star makes heartbreaking confession as he says 'goodbye'

22 Kids and Counting star Noel Radford has shared a poignant reflection on teen fatherhood, disclosing the moment he had to "grow up".

Finding fame alongside his wife Sue in Channel 5's popular series that follows their bustling household, Noel opened up about the early days of parenthood and how it led to losing contact with friends.

Talking candidly during the show's fifth season, while wandering through the Lancashire neighbourhood where he first met Sue, Noel mused: "Between that cul de sac and this one, this is where I met Sue and I had to suddenly grow up."

Amidst shots of nostalgia, he admitted: "We didn't have time for friends and things like that. I've never heard from them, never seen them or anything anymore, they just suddenly group up and then goodbye."

In a heart-to-heart in an episode aptly titled 'Noel's Midlife Crisis,' Britain's biggest dad also pondered over the path not taken, revealing: "What I really wanted to do was to immigrate to Australia and be a lorry driver.

"But you just got to make so many sacrifices when you have so many kids any dreams I had were put to the waste side."

Sue and Noel Radford became parents at startlingly young ages, with Sue only 14 at the birth of their first son. They cemented their journey together with wedding vows in 1992.

Their 22 children include 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.

Noel Radford recently spoke out to defend his relationship after public scrutiny intensified when it emerged Sue had become pregnant at just 13. He explained: "What happened back then has obviously been brought up again in recent years, after we became known by going on television."

He continued, addressing the backlash: "People have inevitably talked about the situation and it has been written about in the newspapers and discussed on social media. There has been a lot of focus on it and, in a way, it was probably worse for us than when it actually happened. So many people have given their opinions."

Noel also reflected on their youth at the time of Sue's first pregnancy, saying: "But we were both kids it was not as if I was 10 or 15 years older than Sue. For a lot of people, though, things are just black and white and you are tarnished with the same brush as other people in totally different situations. We were young and we were daft. But we wanted to continue as a couple."