Channel 4 has released early stills from Tip Toe, a brand new queer drama from Russel T. Davies, starring Alan Cumming and David Morrissey.

Set in the Gay Village of Manchester, Tip Toe follows the adversarial relationship between neighbours Leo (Cumming) and Clive (Morrissey) as tensions rise amidst prejudice, fear-mongering, and misinformation.

In the series, Leo is the jovial owner of Spit & Polish bar, who clashes with his neighbour of 15 years, Clive. As global tensions begin to seep into their daily lives, the pair becomes deadly enemies fighting against a residential backdrop.

Filming for the five-part series began in September and wraps up this week. Ahead of Tip Toe‘s release, writer Davies shared his excitement.

“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,” said Davies.

A trademark of his projects, Davies is attempting to push an urgent message in Tip Toe: the queer community is more vulnerable than ever as blatant acts of hatred become more frequent and normalised.

The Channel 4 press release from February describes Tip Toe as an exploration of “the most corrosive forces facing the LGBTQ+ community today, examining the danger as prejudice creeps back into our lives.”

Davies is highly praised for his past Channel 4 series, It’s A Sin, following a young group of friends navigating their sexuality at the height of the AIDS epidemic. The series was voted The Guardian‘s best TV show of the year in 2021.

Peter Hoar, who has worked with Davies on multiple projects in the past, directed the show.  Quay Street Productions produced Tip Toe with executive producers Nicola Shindler, Davies, Hoar and Cumming.

The released photos certainly depict the high-stress atmosphere of the series, one familiar to both queer and non-queer communities during a time of political uncertainty across the world. Set to release next year, we can’t wait to tune into Tip Toe.

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