Lossie family of 13 to hit TV screens
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A CANDID glimpse into the rough and tumble of daily life in a 13-member Lossiemouth family will be beamed onto TV screens across the UK when they feature in a new show next week.
The Sullivan family, husband and wife Ben (44) and Zoe (41) and their 11 children aged from 15 months to 14 years, spent the summer of 2019 being filmed by Channel 5 for the programme which points a lens at life in a large family.
The series, Me and My 10 Kids, featuring six families from across the UK, will air from January 7 on 5Star. The family launched their own YouTube channel a year ago, posting weekly videos as The Sullivan Family, and a Facebook page offering a look into their bustling and boisterous day-to-day existence.
Dad Ben, who has worked as an RAF aircraft engineer for 24 years, said they were comfortable being subjects for the "no-holds barred" look at family life.
The family, originally from Cornwall, moved to Lossiemouth from RAF Benson, in Oxfordshire, in 2013.
The children – eight girls and three boys – include two sets of twins. The family hit national headlines in 2017 when their second set of twins were born on the first set of twins' birthday.
They are 15-month-old Joseph, Agnes (two), three-year-old twins Leah and Erin, Toby (six), Eva (eight), Noah (10), twins Charlotte and Isabelle (11), Olivia (13) and Elisabeth (14).
Filming took place in 14 to 15-hour-a-day stints, capturing every aspect of the family's lives. One of the children, Erin, was filmed undergoing an operation in hospital. The crew took footage of the family at Lossie Raft Race and followed Ben to work at RAF Lossiemouth.
Ben said the filming experience was enjoyable, adding: "The kids had a great time with them. The crew found that the children – because we do YouTube – were already used to being filmed and to speaking on camera, so it was quite natural for them really.
"Some days were long, I'd say, but they didn't get on our nerves or anything."
The cock crows at 5am in the Sullivan household to get everyone showered and fed, all heads brushed and lunch-boxes made up. The film crew were there to capture the frantic back-to-school activity after summer.
The couple run a tight ship. Ben said: "I think we survive because we have a robust routine.
"It's just a busy life. I get a lot of guys at work asking me how we cope – and I tell them we're just wired up for it. We've never really been out of the busyness."
Holidays have always been out of the question due to cost and logistics but the family do manage days out together travelling in convoy by two people-carriers.
The couple had always dreamed of having a big family. Zoe said: "We thought we'd have five, but when we went for number three we ended up having three and four with twins – then we had number five and we just knew we weren't done.
"I find it fascinating watching the dynamics and the different groups that form in a big family as they grow up, and the different stages involved."
The couple hope to buy their own house in Lossiemouth, which they consider to be home.
Ben added: "We are so proud of our big family and we truly had so much fun filming this programme."
