The graphic depictions of terrorist plots in the BBC drama Bodyguard left one mother of a Manchester terror attack survivor "unable to breathe", she said yesterday, as the broadcaster refused to answer questions over whether it had breached editorial guidelines in featuring its own journalists in the hit Sunday-night drama.

The BBC has been forced to defend itself as a number of viewers complained that they found the inclusion of high-profile BBC News presenters and reporters in coverage of fictional terrorist plots to be unsettling.

Laura Kuenssberg, Sophie Rayworth, Gordon Corera and Andrew Marr are four of 14 journalists from the corporation to star in the four episodes of Bodyguard aired so far.

"It blurs the lines. Having been through the situation myself, it does make me second guess what's going on in real life." said Lisa Fenton, 35, from Blackpool who was waiting outside the MEN arena to pick up her daughter and stepdaughter on the night of the Manchester terror attack at the venue.

She suggested the BBC should have used "fictional reporters" instead, adding that her family relied heavily on the news in the wake of the attack: "The girls were on their phones in the back of the car as I drove home and we had the news on until 4.30am that night."