Cast announced as ‘Chernobyl’ drama series begins filming

A new drama series about the Chernobyl disaster has begun filming in Lithuania in northern-eastern Europe.

Jessie Buckley (Taboo), Paul Ritter (Electric Dreams), Adrian Rawlins (War and Peace) and Con O’Neill (Happy Valley) are the latest additions to the cast of Chernobyl.

The five-part mini-series will be led by Jared Harris (The Crown), Stellan Skarsgård (River) and Emily Watson (Apple Tree Yard).

Jessie Buckley, who recently starred in the BBC’s new The Woman in White adaptation, commented: “It is a real honour to be part of this important piece of work and share with the world the real truth about the unbelievable bravery and sacrifice that the people of Chernobyl made in order to stop an even greater disaster. I feel incredibly humbled.”

The Chernobyl nuclear accident occurred in April 1986 in the northern Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, north of Kiev, and is the most disastrous nuclear power plant accident in history.

Chernobyl is expected to air later this year on HBO in the US and on Sky Atlantic in the UK.