Rumours of Andy Burnham returning to Westminster politics have been rumbling for a while now. The mayor of Manchester made an impression back in 2015 when he was dubbed as a favourite to succeed Ed Miliband, and earned the nickname 'King of the North' during Covid.
The speculation ramped up in the wake of Angela Rayner's resignation and the sacking of Lord Mandelson over his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. This week, Andy Burnham told The Telegraph that MPs are urging him to challenge Sir Keir Starmer for the Labour Party leadership. 'But as I say, it's more a decision for those people than it is for me,' he told the outlet.
With Andy back in the news, lots of people are curious about his wife, Marie-France Van Heel. Here's what we know about her...
Who is Marie-France Van Heel?
Marie-France Van Heel, known as Frankie, is Dutch-born, and met Andy Burnham while the pair were studying at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge University. They got married in 2000, and Marie has juggled raising the pair's three children while working as a brand consultant. She previously worked for BSkyB and her own firm MVH Marketing was dissolved in 2011 after three years. Currently, she is the CEO of Heavenly, a brand consultancy firm based in London.
In 2015, Burnham proudly spoke about his wife's business credentials, telling an interviewer: 'My wife has run her own business in the past so I have experience of working in the private sector.'
What has Andy Burnham said about Marie-France Van Heel?
Frankie bravely made the decision to undergo a double mastectomy in 2010 after she was diagnosed with the breast cancer gene. Three of her family members all died from the disease.
Andy opened up about this in a 2012 interview with The Daily Mirror. 'As hard as it was to take, the decision was liberating rather than depressing because it's lifted the cloud of fear,' he told the outlet. 'She did what she did because she'd seen the devastation breast cancer had caused to her sisters and mother. We more than most know what could have happened and we had to find a way to get beyond it.'
Was Marie-France Van Heel on Blind Date?
Yes! In 1992, Marie-France Van Heel appeared on the show while she was at Cambridge University. She reportedly asked Andy, who was her then-boyfriend, for his permission to go on the show, and he agreed. On the show, she dated a man called will Harris from Surrey - but things didn't go smoothly. Footage from the date, which took place in Gibraltar, shows the pair arguing, with Frankie even telling Will to 'try and look attractive.' He later described her as a 'cold fish' when they returned to the show - so it all turned out well for Andy in the end!