Andy Burnham and his wife Frankie have been married for over 25 years, but few know she once appeared on a major ITV show early in their relationship. The Mayor of Manchester and his wife, Marie-France van Heel, known as Frankie, married in 2000 after meeting at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge.
However, their relationship had its challenges. Early on, Frankie asked Andy if she could go on the hit ITV show Blind Date, hosted by Cilla Black. On the show, she was paired with 'Will from Surrey' for an awkward date in Gibraltar. Frankie, wearing a green blazer and flared trousers, chose Will Harris from three bachelors.
Things went wrong quickly. She argued with Will, telling him to “try and look attractive.” He wore light-wash dungarees and a pink jumper. Back in the studio, Will called her a “cold fish,” and she threw a cushion at him. Off-camera, she reportedly told him: “F***k off, I never want to see you again.”
Twelve years later, Frankie and Andy were in the Parliament Commons bar when Will walked in—now a marketing director for the Conservative Party, opposing Burnham's Labour. Andy recalled: “My wife and I have been together for 25 years but in the early days she was on Blind Date and she was the picker, and to add insult to injury she picked Will from Surrey, who ended up being the director of communications for the Conservative Party.”
After living in a terraced house near Brixton, London, the Burnhams welcomed their first son, Jimmy, in March 2000. Andy admitted they hadn’t planned the timing, feeling “stability was important.” In September 2000, they married as Andy balanced his parliamentary career with fatherhood. They moved back north, where daughters Rosie and Annie were born.
Andy has spoken openly about balancing career and family: “It’s very hard to spend time away from the family. Partly what rooted me was that my mum and dad were always there. I just hope the dysfunctional side of the job doesn’t put my children off what I do.” He joked: “Although I know the family would find it easier if they came home and said they were going to vote Tory rather than that they had decided to support Liverpool…”
Frankie, a former brand consultant, is now Chief Customer Officer for Be.EV, an electric vehicle charging company backed by Octopus Energy Generation, based in Manchester.
