A NORTHUMBERLAND farm could have a new tenant after a TV show battle.

Channel 4 will be highlighting Northumberland as they air their new TV show, ‘Our Dream Farm with Matt Baker' on Saturday April 6 at 8pm which will follow seven contestants competing for a 10-year lease of the vacant farm on Wallington Estate near Capheaton in Northumberland.

The applications were shortlisted by The National Trust, and they will spend three weeks on the 340 acres of grassland, woods, wetland and a fully refurbished, four-bedroom traditional farmhouse to prove if they have what it takes to be the next tenant.

The applicants have also submitted a business plan, which sets out their vision for the farm's future which they will pitch at the estate’s manor house and historic headquarters.

Deciding who will be awarded the tenancy is the Wallington Estate’s General Manager, Sally Richards and Giles Hunt, the Land and Estates Director for the whole of the National Trust.

Speaking about the show, Sally Richards said: "Fourteen years ago, I walked under the 18th-century clocktower that forms the gateway to Wallington - and I immediately fell in love with the place."

The issue of climate change, and the effects it is having on buildings and land across the estate, has become an increasingly important part of her role.

“Our farmers are right at the heart of this, facing into the challenges of more extreme weather events on their businesses, and new finding new opportunities to give wider public benefit, such as flood mitigation for Morpeth," she said.

"I am delighted to be working with Matt on Our Dream Farm. This is an opportunity for an individual, or a family, to try something very new and very different on a beautiful and rugged Northumberland estate. Wallington is steeped in rural history, and we're excited for someone to be part of that next chapter.

"What I really wanted from the applicants was passion. I wanted to see passion for this farm, on this historic estate, and enthusiasm for being part of the local community, which is so important to us here.

"The applicants really impressed me. They were all brilliant and so committed. Having to say goodbye to people each week was really hard – we knew they were all so passionate about the farm. But I’m looking forward to new opportunities arising at Wallington over the coming years, because I know there are great people out there to come and work with us."