Filming begins on location in Hungary from the end of the month.

Set to air in April 2012 to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the HMS Titanic, the mini-series is now reported to be just 4 x 1 hour episodes, not the 2 x 90 minute and 4 x 1 hour episodes that were originally announced.

The cast also includes Celia Imrie (Bridget Jones’ Diary), Toby Jones (Christopher And His Kind), Perdita Weeks (The Promise), Lee Ross (EastEnders), Ruth Bradley (Primeval), Jenna-Louise Coleman (Waterloo Road), Sophie Winkleman (Peep Show), Steven Waddington (The Tudors), David Calder (The World is Not Enough), James Wilby (Gosford Park), Antonio Magro (Little Dorrit), Dragos Bucur (The Way Back), Stephen Campbell Moore (Ashes To Ashes), Noah Reid (Three Inches), Lyndsey Marshal (Being Human), Mark Lewis Jones (Robin Hood), Peter McDonald (The Damned United) and Sylvestra Le Touzel (Northanger Abbey).

Interweaving multi-arc action, mystery and romantic plot lines and featuring fictional and historical characters, Titanic will focus on different characters ranging from steerage passengers to upper class guests. Each point of view will culminate in a cliff hanger as the ship begins to founder, building to an explosive conclusion which draws together each of the stories.

Laura Mackie, Director of ITV Drama, commented: “Following the hugely successful Downton Abbey, Julian Fellowes has delivered another compellingly written and ambitious drama for ITV1. Coupled with exceptional homegrown talent both on and off screen Titanic promises to be the must-see original drama for this landmark anniversary.”

Creator and producer Nigel Stafford Clark added: “There is a lasting fascination with the Titanic’s one and only voyage, and never more so than in the year of its hundredth anniversary. We will tell the story in a way that is bold, fresh and gripping, with all the human detail that television does so well. We hope it will be a fitting tribute to the events of that night.”