Tip Toe review: An urgent, state-of-the-nation drama from Russell T Davies

Screams ring out across the rooftops of Manchester… A man is hanging dead from a lamppost outside his own home… He is immediately recognisable as the star of the show: Alan Cumming. Standing below is his brooding co-star David Morrissey, while another key cast member, Elizabeth Berrington, lies crumpled on the pavement. Such brutal imagery kick-starts a disturbing and suspenseful five-part drama from Russell T Davies.

Tip Toe may unfold on the same turf as Queer as Folk, his dazzlingly breezy calling card of the 1990s, and even Cucumber, his sour midlife-crisis drama of 2015, but now in 2026 Davies argues that life has taken a much darker turn for LGBTQ+ people in Britain.

Indeed, this is urgent, state-of-the-nation stuff from one of our shrewdest screenwriters. As Davies told me recently, “Our rights are paper-thin as gay people. We’re in great danger. The fight is on. That’s what Tip Toe is about.”

Having revealed his end point up front, Davies lets events spool back 10 days prior to that shocking death. In a comical but edgy sequence worthy of playwright Joe Orton, we meet Leo (Cumming), who has been locked out of his house in his vest and pants, and is having to call on his next-door neighbour Clive (Morrissey) for help.

Cumming’s turn as the brusque and commanding host of The Traitors US may be fresh in mind, so it’s touching to see him displaying a far more vulnerable side as Leo in a beautifully detailed performance. Though a bit of a showman in his Canal Street bar Spit & Polish, Leo is intimidated on his own doorstep.

Cumming is well matched by Morrissey’s powerhouse portrayal of Clive. A troubled family man, he oversteps the bounds of neighbourliness and is a dangerous-to-know racist and homophobe.

At a BFI screening in May 2026, Cumming revealed that he and Morrissey have been friends for some 40 years and even used to be near neighbours. When Davies wrote the role of Leo for Cumming, the latter suggested Morrissey for the part of Clive. Despite their characters’ antipathy, it ensures a ready chemistry between the two leads.

The series provides meaty guest spots for familiar actors such as Charlie Condou and Denise Welch, but Davies also gives newcomers the chance to shine: Jackson Connor as Clive’s mischievous, gay 16-year-old son George; Joseph Evans as older son Saul, who has an online sex channel; and Iz Hesketh as Leo’s staff member Zee, a bullied but resilient trans woman.

Composer Sam Watts is a good fit with Cumming, having written the score for The Traitors, and has been championed by Davies since they made Doctor Who spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures. His zippy score has absorbed the sighing inflections of The White Lotus. Director Peter Hoar worked with Davies on It’s a Sin and Doctor Who, and expertly captures his energy, the rising and ebbing tension.

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A sense of unease pervades Tip Toe, heightened by a succession of taut two-handers – be they heart-to-hearts between close chums, awkward exchanges between entrenched enemies, or even a cry for help conducted entirely via text messages.

A highlight of the first episode is the scene between Leo and his old friend Melba (Paul Rhys) as they share a quiet drink on Canal Street. Seasoned gay men, they’re among the thousands of LGBTQ+ people who campaigned for equality, fought against anti-gay laws and survived the ravages of the AIDS pandemic.

Leo is done with marching and fighting, and laughs, “I’ll be 60 next year.” Only we, the viewers, know that he won’t. Melba wants to shake Leo out of his complacency. Those bad times aren’t coming back – they’re already here. “It’s a storm. It’s a tide. It’s a great big tsunami. If there’s a war, you’re on the frontline.”

Melba is a doom-saying oracle, a mouthpiece for Russell T Davies, voicing his cry from the heart. Heated exchanges turn with appalling speed into hate, and culminate in an act of extreme homophobia. Tip Toe isn’t just sobering; it’s visceral and chilling viewing for all queer people and everyone who loves and supports us.

Read more:

• Alan Cumming: “Tip Toe shows how normalised violence and hatred have become”
• Russell T Davies says his “emergency” drama Tip Toe is relevant to all communities: “It’s a crisis”

Tip Toe’s first two episodes are available to watch now on Channel 4, with the final three episodes arriving on Sunday 7 June.
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