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Tip Toe: Channel 4 Previews RTD's Cumming, Morrissey-Starring Drama

Channel 4 released a preview of Russell T Davies' (Doctor Who) new state-of-the-world drama Tip Toe starring Alan Cumming and David Morrissey.

Published Tue, 09 Dec 2025 08:37:03 -0600

by Adi Tantimedh

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Article Summary

Channel 4 previews Tip Toe, a state-of-the-world thriller from Russell T Davies starring Alan Cumming and David Morrissey
Set in Manchester's Gay Village, two neighbors' lives spiral into conflict as their worlds grow increasingly tense
Tip Toe explores prejudice, radicalized opinions, and community divisions in a sharply contemporary setting
Nicola Shindler, Peter Hoar, and Alan Cumming join Davies as executive producers for this urgent five-part drama

Channel 4 has released first-look images featuring leads Alan Cumming and David Morrissey in Russell T Davies' new five-part drama Tip Toe, his first project to go into production after his current stint on Doctor Who. Cumming plays Leo, vivid, funny and dynamic, the owner of a bar called Spit & Polish in Manchester's Gay Village. Morrissey plays Clive, Leo's unsmiling and troubled next-door neighbour. Things do not go well. "We're in the final days of filming, and I'm so excited for 2026 – this show has some of the finest acting I've ever seen, from the most splendid cast, and I can't wait for it to hit Channel 4," Davies shared.

In Tip Toe, Leo and Clive have lived next door to each other in Manchester for almost 15 years. But just as life should be settling down, the world around them is growing more tense. Words become weapons, opinions become radicalised, and gradually, two neighbours become deadly enemies in a tense suburban thriller that challenges everything we consider safe. The series, populated with a cast of vibrant characters and underscored by Davies' trademark wit and deft humour, is an urgent tale that brings a spotlight to bear on the prejudices creeping back into our lives, in a story that speaks not just to the queer community but to the world today.

Tip Toe was filmed entirely in Manchester the series also stars Pooky Quesnel (The A Word, Moonflower Murders) as Clive's wife Marie, Jackson Connor (Phoenix Rise, Masters of the Air) as Clive's youngest son George, Joseph Evans (The Map That Leads To You, CC Emily) as George's older brother Saul, Elizabeth Berrington (Lost Boys & Fairies, Last Night In Soho) as Leo's best friend Stephanie, Iz Hesketh (Renegade Nell, Hollyoaks) as Zee and Shakeel Kimotho (La Cage Aux Folles (Regent's Park Open Air Theatre)), CATS (International Tour) as Hanna, who both work at Spit & Polish, Luyanda Unati Lewis-Nyawo (Wednesday, Devs) as the bar's manager Judy, Paul Rhys (Saltburn, Napoleon) as Melba, a Canal Street fixture, Charlie Condou (Doctor Who, Unforgotten) as Leo's ex-husband Curtis, and Denise Welch (Waterloo Road, Coronation Street) as Diane.

Tip Toeis produced by Quay Street Productions (part of ITV Studios), with Nicola Shindler (Queer as Folk, It's A Sin, Fool Me Once), Russell T Davies (It's a Sin, Queer as Folk, Years and Years), Peter Hoar (Queer as Folk, It's A Sin, Fool Me Once) and Alan Cumming serving as Executive Producers. The series will be produced by Phil Collinson (It's a Sin, Gentleman Jack, Doctor Who), directed by Peter Hoar, and cast by Andy Pryor (Doctor Who, It's a Sin, Gentleman Jack). Tip Toe is produced in association with ITV Studios, which will distribute the show internationally.