A huge list of top names from the world of TV and film are confirmed to star in Chernobyl, Sky and HBO’s high-end drama based on one of the worst man-made catastrophes in history.

Paul Ritter (Electric Dreams, No Offence, Lovesick), Jessie Buckley (Taboo, Country Music, Beast), Adrian Rawlins (Darkest Hour, War and Peace) and Con O’Neill (Happy Valley, Telstar) join the impressive cast bringing to life the true story of the unprecedented tragedy.

Buckley 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.”

Also joining the large-scale production are Sam Troughton (The Ritual, The Hollow Crown), Adam Nagaitis (The Terror, To Walk Invisible), Ralph Ineson (Game of Thrones, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince), Mark Lewis Jones (Apostle, Star Wars Episode VIII), Fares Fares (Tyrant, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) and David Densik (McMafia, Top of the Lake: China Girl).

The series, produced by Sister Pictures and The Mighty Mint, is the first Sky/HBO project to be greenlit through an international partnership to develop big-scale drama, under a $250m multi-year co-production investment deal.

Further names joining the line-up include: Robert Emms, Jay Simpson, Gerard Kearns, Michael Socha, Jamie Sives, Kieran O’Brien, Karl Davies, Billy Postlethwaite, Alex Ferns and James Cosmo.

Jared Harris (The Crown, Mad Men), Stellan Skarsgård (Breaking the Waves, Good Will Hunting) and Emily Watson (Breaking the Waves, Apple Tree Yard) have already been confirmed to star in the five-part mini-series, which will be shown on Sky Atlantic and streaming service NOW TV.

Written and executive produced by Craig Mazin (The Identity Thief, The Huntsman: Winter’s War), Chernobyl is directed by Johan Renck (Breaking Bad, Blackstar), and is executive produced by Jane Featherstone (Humans, Broadchurch) for Sister Pictures, Carolyn Strauss (Game of Thrones, The Wire) for The Mighty Mint and Gabriel Silver for Sky. Johan Renck and Chris Fry (Humans, The Smoke) co-executive produce and Sanne Wohlenberg (Black Mirror, Wallander) produces.

Filming for Chernobyl began in Lithuania last month. The show will be available on Sky Atlantic and NOW TV in the UK and Ireland, and on Sky Atlantic in Italy, Germany and Austria.