Jodie Whittaker says the coronavirus pandemic has "skyrocketed" her paranoia

Speaking to The Sunday Telegraph newspaper's Stellar magazine, she admitted: "I’m pretty anxious anyway, so the pandemic has skyrocketed my paranoia. That worst-case scenario, that I cause someone ill health, I cause them long COVID … I'm a follower of a rule and I need things to be really clear, otherwise it sends me into an apocalyptic panic attack."

Meanwhile, the 38-year-old actress previously admitted she finds herself in an "absolute state" if she can see one of her text messages has been read but she's not received a reply.

She said: "My biggest weakness is being paranoid about getting two ticks on a Whatsapp and no response. I get in an absolute state and wonder what I've done.

"I overthink things and that can be exhausting. I've grown more nervous as I've got older. I've lost that ability to dive in without thinking. Now I dip my toe in and test the temperature. I was very freefall when I was younger. I miss that."

And Jodie - who has a five-year-old daughter with husband Christian Contreras - also admitted she avoids social media because she would be left upset by any negative comments from trolls, something that happened when she was cast as the first ever female Doctor by the BBC.

She said: "I don't do Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. It's just not for me. If you only take the compliments, you create a monster. I take a lot of things to heart."