An eccentric aristocrat without an heir may leave his £7m country estate to the lead singer of US rock band The Fray. Sir Benjamin Slade's search for an heir, made into a documentary for the Discovery Channel, led to 15,000 applications from people sharing his surname the world over. But it's The Fray's Isaac Slade who seems to be emerging as a frontrunner. "He is my new best friend," says Sir Benjamin Slade. "Isaac is definitely one of the hot contenders. It is looking good".
The sixty year old baronet, whose Maunsel House estate boasts nine bedrooms, a ballroom, library, bar, a herd of 430 cattle, 13 peacocks, four dogs and six pigs, explained: "We would put (the estate) in a trust. That is the only way to protect these assets. I would not be selling it to him. We want an heir for this place who would take it on and look after it".
Slade clearly approves of the young singer, who doesn't appear to be living any kind of dissolute rock n roll lifestyle. "He is in a Christian band" he says. "He learned his music playing in church for years. He doesn't take drugs and is in bed by 9.30. He doesn't smoke and he doesn't drink much. He seems to be a very focused young man and wants to have lots of children. We will get the genealogists working on it to see how closely related we are. I would love to hand it over".