SWINDON TV personality and mother of three Melinda Messenger has decided she wants more children, after looking after one of the biggest families in Britain for a television programme.

Melinda, 33, who now lives in Wanborough with her husband Wayne, will be starring in an episode of Inside Out on BBC 1 tonight where she meets Sue, 45, and Ian, 46, Povey from Grange Park, who have a staggering 15 children between them.

From sweeping the floors to reading bed-time stories, the show sees Melinda mucking in with all the daily tasks of the house.

Each day brings nine separate loads of washing, so it was Melinda's job to find enough radiator space to dry it all on.

The children range from 22 months to 24 years old and all live under one roof, with the exception of the eldest son who is at university.

Her two days on Friday, January 21 and January 22, with the Poveys did not phase Melinda. In fact, it had the exact opposite effect.

Melinda, 33, had always wanted a large family. She gave up her dream of having lots of children after suffering severe post-natal depression with her last child.

She considered fostering but after spending just 24 hours with the Poveys, she has changed her mind again. She now wants to have two or three more children.

Melinda said: "I did tell Wayne last night 'that's it, we're going to have another baby' and he said 'oh no, can't we just wait a few more years?' and I said 'no, eggs are ticking'. It's been such an eye opener, not like anything I thought it would be. I thought you would not have a minutes rest but the reality is I've found the opposite.

"I've got three children and it's harder work than being here with Sue and all her family because the older ones help out.

"Large families are a lot of love, a lot of good times, lots of fun a bit of hard work but nothing a cup of tea and a rest won't cure."

Sue and the family were very impressed with the way Melinda embraced their regimented routine. The second day was spent at Cotswold Wildlife Park in Burford and Melinda helped with having to do continual headcounts and making sure that everyone was happy. The Poveys had to hire a coach to get them all there.

Sue said: "She is a total natural with children and I wish all the luck in the world to her if she has more children. Melinda was down to earth. Before she came, I thought she would walk out by 5pm but she did everything, always with a big smile."

Inside Out is screened on BBC ONE West tonight at 7.30pm.

Family file

THE Poveys are made up of:-

Mother Sue, 45; Father Ian, 46; Rebecca 25; Hannah 22; Charlotte 21; Alex 19; Chris 17; Michael 16; Matt 15; Callum 14; Thomas 13; Katie 10; Jessica nine; Abigail seven; Ellie five; Emily four; Isabelle 22 months.

Each week the family gets through:

96 pints of milk

16 loaves of bread

14 litres of squash

10 packets of cereal and 60 loo rolls.

When going on holiday, it takes an hour to put sun-cream on, they take up three chalets at Butlins and have to hire a minibus to get there. A routine trip to the dentists closes the surgery for an afternoon and even the local hospital where the children were born now has a ward called 'The Povey Ward'.

Mrs Povey has not ruled out having more children.

Jamie Hill