How Michael Sheen helped 900 strangers in Secret Million Pound Giveaway

Michael Sheen becomes a modern time Robin Hood successful his Channel 4 documentary Michael Sheen's Secret Million Pound Giveaway. But however did the prima negociate to assistance 900 strangers successful a life-changing enactment of generosity?

The Good Omens prima has shared his wealthiness with radical surviving successful his Welsh hometown of Port Talbot, penning disconnected their indebtedness with his ain luck from acting success.

A Channel 4 documentary astir the task aims to "expose however large banks and recognition concern companies nett from the astir susceptible successful society" – but for hundreds of those who Sheen helped, it meant a caller commencement escaped from debt.

What is Michael Sheen's Secret Million Pound Giveaway?

Frost/Nixon prima Sheen volition hitch retired the indebtedness of 900 strangers successful his hometown of Port Talbot by buying £1m of indebtedness with £100,000 of his ain wealth successful a documentary that highlights societal injustice, fiscal hardship and the request for the Fair Banking Act.

A Channel 4 programme statement says: "In an audacious plot, designed to exposure however large banks and recognition concern companies nett from the astir susceptible successful society, histrion and activistic Michael Sheen uses £100,000 of his ain wealth to bargain £1m of indebtedness belonging to hundreds of radical successful South Wales – and past writes that indebtedness off.

"As the cost-of-living situation continues to deed hard moving people, Michael takes connected the banks, investigates alternate much affordable solutions for borrowing and calls connected the authorities to request a fairer, much inclusive recognition strategy successful the UK."

The documentary volition spot Sheen conscionable with erstwhile premier curate Gordon Brown to speech astir however to advancement with the Fair Banking Act, having thrown his prima powerfulness down a run to alteration laws connected banking.

Sheen says successful the documentary: "Over the 2 years that I've been moving connected this, I've tried to prosecute with the banks to conscionable commencement a speech astir this stuff. I've tried to speech with the government. And cipher volition speech to me, nobody. And truthful I request someone."

Brown vows to assistance him, but arsenic the histrion sets astir trying to alteration fiscal rules connected a wider scale, helium has already transformed the lives of 900 Port Talbot radical by penning disconnected their indebtedness with his ain money. Sheen volition ne'er cognize who helium has helped due to the fact that of information extortion laws, but each of the radical whose debts helium bought were contacted to fto them know.

How did Michael Sheen wide £1m indebtedness with £100k?

If viewers are wondering however the sums progressive adhd up, simply put, Sheen has chosen to constitute disconnected debts owed by 900 people.

The debts full £1m, but Sheen has bought them for £100,000 arsenic creditors tin merchantability indebtedness to a caller purchaser astatine a discounted rate, which usually allows the purchaser to pursuit up the radical owing wealth and complaint their ain interest.

But Sheen has chosen not to adhd involvement and did not pursuit the debtors for wealth either – instead, opting for a life-changing enactment of cancelling the indebtedness himself by not pursuing payment.

It took astir 2 years for Sheen's institution to get the spell up to bargain indebtedness from the Financial Conduct Authority, moving with erstwhile indebtedness postulation institution manager Roland Roberts. They past had the tricky task of uncovering idiosyncratic consenting to merchantability Sheen £1m of indebtedness arsenic Roberts explained that galore businesses would not privation to gully attraction to indebtedness postulation work.

Sheen added: "So past the thought of me, with my £100,000 buying a cardinal pounds of people’s debt; that is thing that it is simply a imaginable happening for maine to do."

Why Michael Sheen wanted to wide 900 strangers' debts

While immoderate Hollywood stars splurge fortunes connected aggregate location and the luxuries that fame and occurrence affords them, Sheen made headlines successful 2021 erstwhile helium announced himself arsenic a not-for-profit actor. That means that helium ploughs a ample magnitude of his net backmost into foundation and assemblage projects.

He had moved backmost to Port Talbot, wherever helium grew up, aft backing the 2019 Homeless World Cup himself. The tourney successful Cardiff, which included radical from 50 countries, outgo £2m to signifier but erstwhile backing fell through, Sheen decided to wage for it retired of his ain wealth alternatively than spot it cancelled.

The prima sold homes successful Los Angeles and Wales to screen the costs, but has said helium is inactive paying it disconnected now.

Back successful 2017, Sheen acceptable up the End High Cost Credit Alliance aft being impressed by a akin strategy tally by John Oliver's Last Week Tonight amusement successful the US which bought up and cleared $15m aesculapian indebtedness with $60,000.

Sheen says successful the documentary: "I privation a strategy that is fair, wherever those successful request tin entree recognition astatine rates that won’t nonstop them spiralling into further debt. I privation to beryllium capable to bash thing which grabs attention, truthful I tin situation the banks, the politicians, to effort and unit wider alteration connected the strategy to marque it fairer. I’m prepared to instrumentality a monolithic fiscal deed myself to effort and marque it happen. I'm going to marque immoderate enemies doing this. There are radical doing precise well, convey you precise much, retired of the mode things are."

He besides details however his ain fiscal circumstances person changed during the 2 years helium has worked connected the debt-clearing project, leaving him disquieted astir whether helium could inactive spend it.

"We've been doing this for rather a agelong time," helium says. "Things person changed for maine a lot...I've mislaid household members during this time. I wasn't definite that we would ever get to this point. It didn't look similar it was going to hap for a agelong time.

"Financially, things person changed. Ironically, I genuinely americium not definite if I tin spend to bash this. But I'm inactive going to bash it, due to the fact that I've made a commitment."

He explains: "We're sitting successful a cafe astatine the infinitesimal with the alloy works close down america and the ladies that enactment present told maine that time is the past vessel coming into the dock present to present worldly to the alloy works. They've described radical sitting successful present conscionable crying astatine these tables. So it couldn't beryllium much real...maybe this programme volition marque a tiny difference, oregon possibly it won't, but I can't locomotion distant from it now."

Talking to The Guardian astir his plan, helium said: "I’m not doing it due to the fact that I privation radical to deliberation I’m great; I privation america to beryllium capable to ideate an alternate to this, due to the fact that this doesn’t work. And successful my ain small way, I’m trying to make my ain alternative. It doesn’t person to beryllium the mode it is."

Michael Sheen’s Secret Million Pound Giveaway airs connected Channel 4 astatine 9pm connected Monday, 10 March.