The BBC medical series has received criticism for its premise’s “preposterous” nature, given it follows nurse Cath (Whittaker) abandoning her disappointing life in Sheffield to become an imposter doctor in Scotland instead.
But amid a slew of lies and a side plot of exposing the incompetence of the NHS, the first episode saw Dr Ally Sutton – which she changed her name to – desperately fighting to stay afloat with such a gaping lack of knowledge.
In scenes where viewers were forced to witness the novice attempt to fix foot fractures and insert a tube into a woman’s stomach, many couldn’t handle the intensity of the programme, and the believability it presented.
Taking to Twitter, fans of the 35-year-old actress begged for the stress to stop.
One person posted: “I’m watching this BBC One drama called Trust Me and it’s giving me such anxiety haha oh god.”
“Trust me on @BBC is giving me serious anxiety!! #jodiewhittaker #bbc #drama,” another user said.
A third agreed: “OMFG this Trust Me on BBC One is making me so anxious FFS.”
One person questioned whether the storyline could actually happen in reality, saying: “Watching Trust Me, this is shocking! How just how. #bbc1 #trustme #BBC.”
Meanwhile, many fans praised the star for her acting as a “Doctor”, suggesting it predicted good things to come for her highly-talked about title role in the new series of Doctor Who.
“#trustme is brilliant so far I love it #jodiewhittaker is awesome she’s going to be an amazing doctor #sharonsmall is brilliant as always,” one fan said approvingly.
Another agreed: “Watching #TrustMe, and Jodie Whittaker is wonderful, as always. She’s going to make such a good Doctor #DoctorWho.”
Trust Me continues next Tuesday at 9pm on BBC One.