CLOSE friends of Gordon Brown, the chancellor, are urging him to do a Hello!-style interview at home with his family in a bid to brighten up his brooding image.

Brown is on parental leave in North Queensferry, Fife, after his wife, Sarah, gave birth last month to James, their second son.

The chancellor’s persona has softened since his marriage in 2000, but political allies believe that he still needs to do more to convey a warmer and more likeable manner.

Compared with David Cameron, the Conservative leader who has cultivated an image as a modern, relaxed family man, Brown still struggles to shake off a perception that he is stern and rather aloof.

A close colleague and friend of Brown said the chancellor had to reach out to women. “Friends have suggested to Gordon that he should think about doing an interview with Hello! at home with his family,” said the source.

“We can’t underestimate how good Cameron is at getting an appealing image over to women, and Gordon is up against that. Gordon’s initial reaction to the idea was to brush it off, but then he said he would run it past a few people. There may be a concern about a fee, but either he could do the interview without a fee or give the fee to a charity.”

A number of politicians have graced the pages of the glossy celebrity magazine over the years, including Ken Livingstone and Glenda Jackson, who were featured in the magazine when they stood as candidates to be mayor of London.

Others include Harriet Harman, the former Labour cabinet minister, Peter Lilley, the former Tory cabinet minister, Lord Steel, the former Holyrood presiding officer, and Paddy Ashdown, the former leader of the Liberal Democrats.

Lembit Opik, the Liberal Democrat MP for Montgomeryshire, and his fiancée Sian Lloyd, the ITN weather presenter, have also been featured in the magazine, as has Belinda Oaten, the wife of Mark Oaten, the former Liberal Democrat leadership contender.

Veronique Henderson, creative director of Colour Me Beautiful, the image consultancy which has advised politicians and television presenters about their image, said that a Hello! interview was exactly the kind of coverage Brown needed if he was to overcome people’s wariness of him.

“He is clearly a very clever, very serious man, but he comes across as aloof. It would be helpful to see him doing different things, such as being at home, playing football with his older son, sitting in the kitchen with his wife,” she said.

“He needs to come across as more friendly.”

Over the years Brown’s image has softened to some extent. The change began following his marriage to Sarah Macaulay, a public relations executive, who arranged for him to take more care of his wardrobe, occasionally to wear something other than his habitual red tie, and to have his house redecorated. He also smiles more after having had his teeth whitened.

Susan Rozsnyai, editor at large at Hello!, said an interview with the Brown family would be a compelling piece.

“It is quite endearing to see his softer side now and again, you immediately like him more and I think it would be good for him politically if you were able to see more,” she said.

“If he’s trying to reach out to women, an interview with Hello! would be useful.”

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