National treasure

Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Michael Sheen has once again confirmed his status - in general, but especially in these parts - as an all-round good egg by announcing that he's spearheading the establishment of a new national theatre for Wales.

The Welsh National Theatre will step into the void left by the National Theatre Wales, which effectively went out of existence late last year after its Arts Council of Wales funding was slashed. While talk suggests that the NTW wasn't a particularly well-run organisation, and so the defunding wasn't entirely surprising, Sheen is undoubtedly right that there remains a pressing need for Welsh stories to be told on the stage in English.

Of course, funding will be key for Sheen's new enterprise too, but he has the profile, personality, drive and dynamism to attract financial backing. Initially, though, it's on him. He has previous form for dipping into his own pockets where necessary, covering much of the considerable cost of staging the Homeless World Cup in Cardiff in 2019 - and his passion and generosity are set to benefit Wales once again.