Andy Burnham's wife stepped out of the shadows today as she joined him in No10 to begin his premiership.Marie-France van Heel, 56, known as Frankie, has been a fixture by Mr Burnham's side since they met in the late 1980s at Cambridge University.She is a marketing executive with her own long career and has largely stayed in the background during his political career along with their three children, Rosie, Annie and Jimmy.She did not join Mr Burnham on stage after his speech accepting the Labour leadership on Friday, although they were pictured embracing in the TUC hall.Today, as he finally took power after more than a year trying to unseat Sir Keir Starmer, she was at his side as he went to Buckingham Palace to be officially invited to form a government by King Charles.And she was with him again in Downing Street as he began his premiership, giving a hesitant wave to the crowd as he processed towards the famous building and gave a speech.Netherlands-born Ms van Heel and Mr Burnham married in 2000 and had their first child that year, eight years after she appeared on the relationship game show Blind Date - with his blessing. Marie-France van Heel, 56, has been a fixture by Mr Burnham's side since they met in the late 1980s at Cambridge University (pictured) She was at his side as he went to Buckingham Palace to be officially invited to form a government by King CharlesThe family, who have a bichon frise named Axel, are said to be tight-knit.Professionally, Ms van Heel has spent much of her career in marketing.After working at BSkyB, she founded MVH Marketing, and later became chief strategy officer at London-based agency Heavenly, which has worked on campaigns for HSBC, England Rugby and the BBC.She is now chief marketing officer at Iduna Infrastructure, a firm which owns large parts of Manchester’s electric vehicle charging network.After questions about a possible conflict of interest, Mr Burnham, as Greater Manchester mayor, distanced himself from decisions about Iduna and declared his wife’s job.Ms van Heel's response when Mr Burnham told her of his plans to seek a return to Westminster after nine largely successful years as mayor of Greater Manchester was not entirely supportive.Her initial reaction was 'probably a two-word answer… probably half-joking', he revealed last month, adding that there was 'some encouragement needed'.But the 56-year-old was by his side at the Makerfield count in the early hours of yesterday followed by his victory rally at Ashton Town football club several hours later.Recently described by a close friend as 'beautiful, very gentle and highly intelligent', they met while both were studying at Cambridge University's Fitzwilliam College in 1989.Mr Burnham later recalled how he was 'trying to impress the newly arrived first-year girls' when he found one who loved 1980s Manchester band The Smiths.'The rest, as they say, is history,' he added.In the early years of their relationship, Ms van Heel appeared on the ITV show Blind Date. Viewers heard she was studying social and political sciences, captained the college women's football team and fancied actor Matt Dillon. Mr Burnham and Ms Van Heel meet Sir Clive Alderton, principal private secretary to the King and Queen, at Buckingham Palace Will Harris was the man chosen by Marie-France van Heel live on Saturday night television in 1992, when she appeared on Blind Date Frankie married Mr Burnham in 2000, having already been together more than 10 yearsWill Harris was the lucky contestant chosen by Marie-France van Heel live on Saturday night television in 1992.There was no romance - she was already with Mr Burnham and took part as a publicity stunt to help her dream of becoming a children's TV presenter.However, more than three decades after 'Will from Surrey' went on prime time TV dressed in dungarees and serenaded her with bad poetry, Mr Harris wants to become an MP.Now 56 and also with a career in marketing, he wants to stand as a Conservative candidate at the next election - which could be months away if Mr Burnham decides to go to the country to give his new regime legitimacy.Mr Burnham had agreed to the televised appearance, though later told of watching the primetime Saturday night episode worriedly 'watching through my fingers' and from behind the sofa. The Netherlands-born marketing executive Frankie was a social and political sciences student at the time, while Mr Burnham was doing an English degree.She has subsequently revealed how her decision to go on the show was part of earlier plans to become a children's television presenter.Ms van Heel later said in an interview on ex-employer Heavenly's website: 'I thought that appearing on a TV dating show might raise my profile and help my career – 20 years of intermittent mickey-taking was the result but I’m happy to embrace my 15m of fame/shame!' The programme, which ran from 1985 to 2003, saw male and female contestants pick one of three members of the opposite sex for a date, without seeing them and relying on their answers to a set of questions.Will's answers included offering up a rhyme in her honour, when answering her question about what he did in the shower by saying: 'I generally make up poems and short stories.' The couple pictured after Mr Burnham's by-election win in Makerfield in June (top) and with daughter Rosie He followed up by attempting to woo her with: 'Oh, Frankie, oh, Frankie - your name is quite cranky. Pick me for your Blind Date, and there'll be no hanky-panky.'She then asked the three men: 'What would you do if you were my first taste of British men?'Will told her in response: 'You give me half an hour and I’ll give you the best time of your life.'But it all ended in disaster, with a trip to Gibraltar that resulted in Mr Harris branding her a 'cold fish' when asked how it went afterwards.He told the Sunday Times he was put up to criticising her by production staff who lied and said she had been rude about him in her interview about the date. The position became more awkward six months later when, having abandoned hopes of a TV career, Ms Van Heel ended up on the same marketing course as her former date.