The Woman in White actress Jessie Buckley has joined the cast of Chernobyl, a five-part drama starring Emily Watson, Stellan Skarsgård and The Crown's Jared Harris.

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The Sky Atlantic and HBO series will tell the human story of the catastrophic nuclear accident at Chernobyl in 1986, when a late-night safety test went wrong – with deadly results.

The show was announced in July 2017 with Harris set for the starring role as Valery Legasov, the Soviet scientist chosen by the Kremlin to investigate the accident who became bitterly disillusioned with the failure of the authorities to face up to the design flaws in the reactors.

Apple Tree Yard star Emily Watson and Avengers actor Stellan Skarsgård will also play key roles in the series, which began filming in Lithuania in April.

Buckley, who rose to fame in talent contest I'd Do Anything and recently starred as Marian Halcombe in The Woman in White, said: "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."

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Also joining the drama are Adrian Rawlins, recently seen as Rob Moffatt in ITV drama Innocent, and Ralph Ineson – best known for his roles as Amycus Carrow in Harry Potter and Dagmer Cleftjaw in Game of Thrones.

Further big-name actors taking part in the large-scale production include Paul Ritter and Con O'Neill.

Written by Craig Mazin and directed by The Walking Dead's Johan Renck, Chernobyl promises to "bring to life the true story of the unprecedented tragedy."

The cast will also include Sam Troughton, Adam Nagaitis, Mark Lewis Jones, Fares Fares, David Densik, Robert Emms, Jay Simpson, Gerard Kearns, Michael Socha, Jamie Sives, Kieran O’Brien, Karl Davies, Billy Postlethwaite, Alex Ferns and James Cosmo.

Chernobyl will air in the UK on Sky Atlantic and NOW TV


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