Mum-of-22 almost had to can daughter's 18th over trolls

Ellie – one of 22 children – celebrated her landmark birthday dressed up in a beautiful white dress and matching sparkly heels.

Having shared the realities of being parents to Britain’s biggest family on TV for more than a decade, Noel and Sue Radford are used to dealing with criticism.

But they draw the line at abuse directed at their kids – which is why they were left heartbroken when daughter Ellie was cruelly trolled on her 18th birthday.

Last May, Ellie – one of 22 Radford children – celebrated her landmark birthday dressed up in a beautiful white dress and matching sparkly heels, The Sun reported.

Proud mum Sue, 48, shared a photo of Ellie looking glamorous on the family’s Instagram page and fans were quick to compare her to Victoria Beckham.

One wrote: “Happy 18th defo Victoria Beckham double I really thought it was her” while another commented: “Ellie looks like a little Posh Spice”.

Sue and her husband Noel won't stand for their kids getting trolled. Picture: The Radford Family

But soon afterwards, vicious online trolls began to slam the Radford’s daughter for looking like ‘mutton dressed as lamb’, according to a devastated Sue and Noel today.

In an exclusive interview with The Sun, Noel, 52, said: “It’s upsetting. Ellie’s 18th is a special moment and she is only 18 once, and it ruined it for her.

“You can have a thousand positive comments but it takes one or two to ruin your day.”

The messages have since been deleted from the family’s Instagram page but Sue reveals Ellie was also trolled for being too thin.

This was particularly hard to take because her daughter has been diagnosed with Gilbert’s Syndrome, a hereditary condition when the liver function is too high and can cause people to lose weight.

Sue explained: “They also said: ‘put weight on, you look anorexic’. But in the last series, viewers will have seen that Ellie was ill. She had Gilbert’s Syndrome which saw her lose a lot of weight.

Ellie was trolled and wanted to cancel her birthday. Picture: The Radford Family

“She was quite poorly with it, and you just think people have no right to comment on people’s looks and their appearance. It’s not fair. She was really upset and it’s difficult as a parent.”

The couple say the trolls affected their daughter so much, she initially didn’t even want to go out to celebrate turning 18.

Thankfully, they were able to persuade her to not let the trolls ruin her big day – but insist their kids should be left alone.

Sue said: “For me and Noel, you can brush it off and go ‘it doesn’t matter, it’s fine’. But I think when it is your children that are getting that, it’s not OK.

“The people commenting are probably parents, probably with children the same age as Ellie and they find that acceptable to comment on things like that on social media. I find it mind-blowing.”

The Radford family has 22 children. Picture: The Radford Family

Married for more than 30 years, Sue and Noel are parents to Chris, 34, Sophie, 29, Chloe, 28, Jack, 26, Daniel, 24, Luke, 23, Millie, 22, Katie, 21, James, 20, Ellie, 18, Aimee, 17, Josh, 16, Max, 14, Tillie, 13, Oscar, 12, Casper, 11, Hallie, eight, Phoebe, seven, Archie, six, Bonnie, five and Heidie, three.

Sadly, the couple’s 17th child, Alfie, was stillborn on July 6, 2014. They also have ten grandchildren.

The couple – who have never received any benefits – have invited cameras into their chaotic family home for more than a decade.

This story originally appeared on The Sun and reproduced with permission