One of the stars of HBO and Sky Atlantic's newest mega-popular show Chernobyl has revealed that he has a personal connection the tragic disaster that took place in 1986.

Former EastEnders actor Alex Ferns, who plays miner Andrei Glukhov in the mini-series, spoke to Scotland's Daily Record about how the events specifically affected his family.

"Chernobyl's a hard story, especially for me," said Alex. "I'll tell you why it's a hard story. My uncle Robert used to work for the Scottish Water Board. When Chernobyl happened, the poisoned rain came over the west and centre of Scotland.

HBO

Related: Former EastEnders star Alex Ferns would only go back on one condition

"My uncle and his colleagues were out working in the rain in the Killearn area and asked to come in but were told by their [manager] to stay outside and to carry on working. They carried on. Not one of them reached the age of 50, including Robert. They all died of cancer.

"I think that's a f**king tragedy. That’s a reflection of the bigger picture of Chernobyl that we see in the show. Some people just don't f**king care about anybody else. It’s personal to me, it really is.

"Whether the Chernobyl rain is what gave him the cancer, they don't know 100 percent but the family are convinced it had something to do with it. Apart from telling me himself numerous times that he felt Chernobyl had made him sick, Robert's closest friend said he believed it too."

Although the show has been praised for how authentic it is, some parts of it didn't happen in real life.

Meanwhile, some horrifying moments were cut because they were just "too much", the show's creators have revealed.



Chernobyl is available to watch on NOW TV.

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