Chernobyl star Alex Ferns says his uncle died from cancer after being exposed to ‘poisoned rain’ as a result of the nuclear disaster
- Ferns believes his uncle, Robert Stephenson, was poisoned by Chernobyl rain
- Mr Stephenson worked outside with other men who all died of cancer before 50
- They were working in rain in the Killearn area of Scotland and were told to stay outside despite warnings
Chernobyl star Alex Ferns revealed that his family were personally affected by the nuclear disaster which is believed to have killed thousands.
Ferns believes that his uncle, Robert Stephenson, 47, died from cancer caused by rain that had been ‘poisoned’ with radiation from the nuclear disaster.
He said Mr Stephenson told family and friends that he believed Chernobyl was the cause of his cancer after he was forced to carry on working in the rain by his boss.
Alex Ferns (pictured playing Andrei Glukhov) believes that his uncle, Robert Stephenson, 47, died from cancer caused by rain that had been ‘poisoned’ with radiation from the nuclear disaster
He said Mr Stephenson told family and friends that he believed Chernobyl was the cause of his cancer after he was forced to carry on working in the rain by his boss
Mr Stephenson worked for the Scottish Water Board in the Killearn area in Scotland in 1986, when a health warning was issued advising people to avoid drinking rain water when radiation was discovered.
In an interview with the Daily Record, Ferns said: ‘My uncle and his colleagues were out working in the rain in the Killearn area in Scotland and asked to come in but were told by their gaffer to stay outside and to carry on working. They carried on.’
Ferns added that all of the men working with his uncle died from cancer before they were 50.
Radiation levels in Scotland peaked on May 7, 1986, when milk was found to have 225 becquerels per litre.
The normal range is 0.4.
Mr Stephenson (pictured) worked for the Scottish Water Board in the Killearn area in Scotland in 1986, when a health warning was issued advising people to avoid drinking rain water when radiation was discovered
Radiation levels in Scotland peaked on May 7 when milk was found to have 225 becquerels per litre
The nuclear reactor core (pictured) at Chernobyl exploded on April 26, 1986, during a safety test
Ferns added that all of the men working with his uncle died from cancer before they were 50
Ferns added: ‘Whether the Chernobyl rain is what gave him the cancer, they don’t know 100 per cent but the family are convinced it had something to do with it.
The five-part hit TV series is the highest rated programmed by viewers on IMDb.
And Ferns has been praised for the ‘performance of a lifetime’ which he revealed was based on his father.
The no nonsense head of a group of miners, Andrei Glukhov (played by Ferns) is first introduced to viewers as he makes a joke at the expense of the communist government they were living under.
Ferns said: ‘I was basically playing my dad. My approach was that I don’t take any s*** from anyone and that all came from my dad.
Ferns, who won critical acclaim for his performance in Chernobyl, was previously known for his role in Eastenders as abusive husband Trevor who was injured and initially presumed dead when his wife, Little Mo, hit him with an iron
‘He taught me not to take any s*** from so-called higher-ups. That comes through in Glukhov.’
The Chernobyl disaster happened on April 26, 1986, when a nuclear reactor core exploded in the Ukrainian town of Pripyat during a safety test.
While the exact death toll remains unknown, the official Soviet Union figure that has remained unchanged since 1989 is 31.
Other estimates range between 4,000-100,000.
Ferns said: ‘There’s a lot of politics around it. But what we do show is that, at the end of the day, it is the workers who get f***ed over.’