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Andy Burnham's wife appeared on 'Blind Date' while they were together
Home>News>UK News
Updated 16:39 22 Jun 2026 GMT+1Published 15:32 22 Jun 2026 GMT+1

Andy Burnham's wife appeared on 'Blind Date' while they were together

He might end up being the next prime minister, so this could be important for the pub quiz

Joe Harker

Joe Harker

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With all the current political turmoil going on it's important to remember the things that matter, pieces of trivia that may one day be important to know in a pub quiz.

One day soon you might be in a pub while a bloke with a microphone asks you: "Which former prime minister from the 21st century shares a name with his party's founder?"

Obviously the answer is Keir Starmer, who was named after Labour party founder Keir Hardie, and also announced today (22 June) that he's leaving Downing Street.

He's going to be resigning as prime minister and laid out a timetable for his departure, with a leadership contest being triggered next month with a view that when parliament returns from summer recess in September there'll be a new PM.

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The most likely candidate is Andy Burnham, who today was sworn in as an MP and left his post as Mayor of Greater Manchester.

Andy Burnham might well be the UK's next prime minister, his wife Frankie (right) once went on Blind Date (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
Andy Burnham might well be the UK's next prime minister, his wife Frankie (right) once went on Blind Date (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

If he does end up becoming prime minister then pub quiz question setters might want to ask: "Which British prime minister let his future wife go on an episode of Blind Date?"

That's because during his Cambridge University days when he was dating his future wife Marie-France van Heel, nicknamed 'Frankie', she'd told her new boyfriend that she'd just been picked to go on Blind Date and wanted to know if it was alright with him for her to go on it.

According to the Metro, he said yes and Burnham watched his future wife encounter Cilla Black while of the trio of men attempting to charm her she chose 'Will from Surrey', who was pretty much dressed up as Super Mario.

Apparently he tried to seduce her by making up a poem for her on the spot, saying: "Oh Frankie, oh Frankie, your name is quite cranky, pick me for your Blind Date, and there’ll be no hanky-panky."

It may be hard to believe based on that poetry, but they didn't strike up a relationship when they went on a date to Gibraltar.

Frankie did go on Blind Date back in the 90s, though her future husband had little to fear from Will from Surrey (ITV)
Frankie did go on Blind Date back in the 90s, though her future husband had little to fear from Will from Surrey (ITV)

He called her a 'cold fish' and she told him to 'f**k off'.

She ended up marrying Burnham eight years later in 2000, and Elle reports that 'Will from Surrey' became a marketing director for the Conservatives.

Clearly they went in very different directions.

Speaking about going on the show, she said: "I thought that appearing on TV dating show might raise my profile and help my career.

"Twenty years of intermittent mickey-taking was the result, but I’m happy to embrace my 15 minutes of fame/shame."

At least she got to meet Cilla Black.

Featured Image Credit: Oli SCARFF / AFP via Getty Images

Topics: UK News, Politics

Joe Harker
Joe Harker

Joe graduated from the University of Salford with a degree in Journalism and worked for Reach before joining the LADbible Group. When not writing he enjoys the nerdier things in life like painting wargaming miniatures and chatting with other nerds on the internet. He's also spent a few years coaching fencing. Contact him via [email protected]

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@MrJoeHarker

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