In 1992, a Dutch-born marketing student named Marie-France van Heel appeared on Cilla Black's hit ITV dating show Blind Date, wearing flares, a bottle green jacket and a yellow headband over her bobbed blonde hair. She chose Will from Surrey for a holiday to Gibraltar, but the pair did not hit it off. Thirty-three years later, van Heel, known as Frankie, is about to walk into Downing Street alongside her husband, incoming prime minister Andy Burnham.
Burnham, who will replace Sir Keir Starmer on Monday, met van Heel when she started studying at Fitzwilliam College at the University of Cambridge in 1989. He was in his second year of an English Literature degree. Burnham's former lecturer, John Mullan, wrote in the Times that other students thought he had "scooped the pools" when they began dating. Van Heel was described as the coolest girl in college.
“Marie-France van Heel went on Blind Date, chose a man who became a Tory official, and is now about to move into Downing Street.”
Born in January 1970, the same month as Burnham, she grew up in the Netherlands and Belgium before moving to the UK. They started dating at university, but early in the relationship she made a surprising request: could she go on Blind Date? Burnham agreed.
After the show, they quickly reunited. Twelve years later, Burnham and van Heel were reportedly in a bar in Parliament when Will walked in — he had become the director of communications for the Conservative Party.
By then, van Heel had given birth to their first child, Jimmy, in March 2000. Burnham has said his son's birth spurred them to marry after years of living together. "I think marriage is better for kids," Burnham told the Daily Telegraph in 2007. "I'm a bit old fashioned on these matters — although I have to admit that Jimmy, my eldest son, was at our wedding so I'm only old fashioned up to a point." He added: "When my wife got pregnant for the first time it was a complete shock. My first thought was, 'Oh my God, we'll have to get married'."
The couple later had daughters Rosie and Annie while living in Manchester. Rosie works for drinks brand Jägermeister, Jimmy for the Royal College of Nursing, and Annie has just graduated from Cardiff University.
Neither van Heel nor the children are expected to move into Downing Street, but nothing has been confirmed about where their rescue dog Axel will live. For now, van Heel — once the coolest girl in college and a Blind Date contestant — prepares for one of the most powerful unofficial roles in government: the prime minister's spouse.
