Sally Bercow's Biography

Sally Bercow was born on 22 November 1969.

She is best known as the wife of John Bercow, Speaker of the House of Commons.

She was born Sally Ilman, the daughter of Eileen and Ronald Ilman, a builders' merchant, in Surrey.

She studied at King Edward's school in Witley, Marlborough College, and Keble College, Oxford.

At Oxford, she studied theology, changed to history, but ultimately left without a degree.

At Oxford, Sally Bercow had a reputation for binge drinking, but has been teetotal since 2000.

Sally Bercow has worked in advertising and PR.

In spite of her husband John Bercow being a Conservative MP and then Speaker of the House of Commons, Sally Bercow stood for the Labour Party in St James ward of Westminster City Council in the 2010 election, however, she lost.

Sally Bercow is no stranger to controversy, having posed for an Evening Standard interview wearing only a bed sheet.

In 2011, Sally Bercow entered Celebrity Big Brother on Channel Five.

However, she was the first celebrity to be evicted from the Big Brother house.

In 2012, Channel Five scheduled a two part series, When Paddy Met Sally, in which Sally Bercow stayed with Paddy Doherty for two weeks.

In 2013, the High Court ruled that a tweet by Sally Bercow about Lord McAlpine was libellous and she was ordered to pay undisclosed damages. Lord McAlpine's libel action against Sally Bercow was formally settled at the high court in October 2013.

Sally Bercow had an affair with her husband John's cousin, Alan Bercow.