The race to become London mayor on May 6 became headline news for millions of TV viewers in Eastern Europe this week – thanks to the Bulgarian wife of one of the runners.

Independent candidate and broadcaster Brian Rose, the bookies’ second-favourite, is married to Mariana Aleksieva – and the couple, who have three children, were interviewed on Bulgaria’s flagship current affairs programme 120 Minutes on the bTV channel this week, watched by over two million viewers.

US-born Brian, who has lived in London for 20 years, met Mariana when she worked at the Dolce & Gabbana store in Old Bond Street.

He said: ‘Campaigning to become the next mayor of London is all about communicating with people, although this might be the first time campaigning has reached across to the far side of Europe.’

Brian is pledging to give Londoners ‘a real choice for change’, describing next month’s election as ‘the most important vote for our city in generations’.

He added: ‘As Mayor, I plan to tackle the crime epidemic by putting 10,000 more officers on the streets, get London back to work by scrapping the congestion charge while introducing new incentives for businesses, and build 50,000 affordable homes by Christmas.  Crucially, all these plans are costed and deliverable.’