Michael Sheen uses his own money to write off £1m of people's debts

Michael Sheen appears in a new Channel 4 documentary, where he uses his own money to buy £1m worth of consumer debt and then writes it off to help people in his local community

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Beloved Welsh actor Michael Sheen was visibly moved as he spoke of the severe impact financial difficulties are having on Port Talbot in an emotional new documentary. The star, who was born in Newport and raised in Port Talbot, spent two years working on a "secret" project, focusing on the debt and credit industry.

His ambition to help people will be featured in a documentary airing on Channel 4 on Monday, March 10. Sheen takes a remarkable step by writing off £1 million in consumer debt using his personal funds.

The "Good Omens" actor, aged 56, spends £100,000 to purchase around 900 personal debts for people residing in South Wales. He establishes a debt acquisition company, using £100,000 of his own funds.

In a poignant segment shot in a Port Talbot cafe he grew up, Sheen reveals to viewers that the women working there recounted stories of people "crying at these tables", following the harrowing shutdown of the town's last blast furnace and subsequent job losses among steelworkers.

Reflecting on his journey of purchasing debt from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) – an endeavour taking nearly two years – he discusses collaborating with Roland Roberts, an ex-director of a debt collection firm, to launch his own debt-buying venture. For the latest TV and showbiz gossip sign up to our newsletter

"We've been doing this for quite a long time and things have changed in the sort of landscape of debt and things have shifted" Sheen says in the documentary. "But things have sort of changed for me a lot in the time that we've been doing it."

He shares the hardships he faced during this period, saying: "I've lost family members during this time. I wasn't sure that we would ever get to this point."

The challenge seemed insurmountable at times, as Sheen confesses: "It didn't look like it was going to happen for a long time and financially, things have changed. Ironically, I genuinely am not sure if I can afford to do this. But I'm still going to do it, because I've made a commitment."

"We're sitting in a cafe at the moment, with steelworks right behind us, and the ladies who work here, before we started filming, told me that tomorrow is the last ship, the last boat coming into the dock here to deliver stuff to the steelworks.

"And they've described people sitting in here just crying at these tables. So it couldn't be more real, how much people are hurting. It's made me realise that this is ... you've got to give it a chance, you've got to give it a go, and maybe this programme will make a tiny difference, or maybe it won't, but I can't walk away from it now."

Also featured in the documentary is Labour MP Lloyd Hatton to discuss the proposed Fair Banking Act, along with former prime minister Gordon Brown, who pledges his support for Sheen to have "the kind of meetings that are necessary" to drive change. Sheen shares that he reached out to several major banks to discuss this issue, only to be met with rejection.

The actor, known for his role as Aro in the Twilight saga, declared himself a "not-for-profit actor" back in 2021. In January, he funded the Welsh National Theatre, proclaiming it would herald "a new dawn" for the nation.

Sheen's diverse roles include playing interviewer Sir David Frost in Frost/Nixon, the Duke of York in the Prime Video series A Very Royal Scandal, and US researcher William Masters in the Showtime series Masters Of Sex. Michael Sheen's Secret Million Pound Giveaway is set to air on Channel 4 on Monday at 9pm, available for viewing and streaming.

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