Jul 3, 2026
Tip Toe is a 2026 British television psychological thriller[1] miniseries for Channel 4 written by Russell T Davies and starring Alan Cumming and David Morrissey.
Premise
Tip Toe is a miniseries starring two next-door neighbours in Manchester—Leo Struthers, the gay owner of the Canal Street bar Spit and Polish, and his long-standing neighbour Clive Goss, an electrician. The show explores the effects of anti-LGBTQ rhetoric on social media, leading the neighbours to gradually become deadly enemies. As events unfurl involving Clive's son George and online conspiracy theories, the series reaches a deadly conclusion.[2][3][4]
Cast
- Alan Cumming as Leo Struthers. Born in Scotland, Leo runs a bar called Spit and Polish on Manchester's Canal Street.[5] He became HIV-positive in the 1990s.
- David Morrissey as Clive Goss, Leo's next-door neighbour and an electrician. Clive is anxious and worried about the state of the world, his finances, and his family.
- Elizabeth Berrington as Stephanie Dale
- Denise Welch as Diane
- Pooky Quesnel as Marie Goss, Clive's wife.
- Jackson Connor as George Goss, Clive and Marie's 16-year-old son.
- Joseph Evans as Saul Goss, Clive and Marie's 25-year-old son.
- Iz Hesketh as Zee Malone
- Luyanda Unati Lewis-Nyawo as Judy Khumalo
- Gabriel Clark as Mikey Driscoll
- Shakeel Kimotho as Hanna Ayomide
- Paul Rhys as Melba
- Charlie Condou as Curtis Baxter[6]
- Jolyon Benson as Frederic Hopper
Production
The series was commissioned by Channel 4 in February 2025.[7] It is written by Russell T Davies and produced by Nicola Shindler for Quay Street Productions with Phil Collinson as a series producer, and Peter Hoar as series director. Davies, Hoar and Alan Cumming are executive producers. Cumming also leads the cast with David Morrissey.[8] The wider cast includes Elizabeth Berrington, Denise Welch and Pooky Quesnel, amongst others.[6]
Filming began in Manchester in September 2025.[9]
Episodes
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | Viewers (millions) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Episode 1" | Peter Hoar | Russell T Davies | 31 May 2026 | TBD | |
|
In a flashforward, a crowd of people
gather to see Leo hanged from a streetlamp. Ten days earlier, Leo
has just had a one-night stand with a man. The man steals his
laptop, and Leo runs outside to chase him, but fails and also locks
himself out of his house dressed only in pants and a t-shirt. This
forces him to knock on his neighbour Clive's door, where he asks if
he can call his best friend, Stephanie, who has a spare key. Clive
agrees, but later suggests that Leo give him a key for emergencies,
and Leo hires him to help at his bar. One of Leo's employees, Zee,
has been sleeping at the bar since her home has become unsafe since
coming out as transgender, so Leo
and the other employees help her pack and move. Leo and his friend
Melba discuss the situation, with Melba frustrated at Leo's denial
of the danger their community is in, in the present day. Leo
discovers George, Clive's teenage son, on his dating app.
|
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| 2 | "Episode 2" | Peter Hoar | Russell T Davies | 1 June 2026[a] | TBD | |
|
In a flashforward, George watches
silently from his room as Leo is hanged outside. Clive shows
increasing discomfort around Leo and his employees, two of whom are
transgender. Leo also hires Clive's eldest son, Saul, to work at
the bar. Leo and George communicate through the app, with Leo
giving George advice and hiding his sexuality from Clive.
|
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| 3 | "Episode 3" | Peter Hoar | Russell T Davies | 7 June 2026 | TBD | |
|
In a flashforward, police arrest
Clive for Leo's murder. In the present, Clive has a struggling
marriage with Marie and a strained relationship with his sons,
especially George. Clive and Leo return home to find George hiding
in Leo's flat, with Clive assaulting Leo and accusing him of luring
his son over. Leo threatens to call the police, which Stephanie
encourages, but Leo ultimately chooses not to out of fear for his
safety. George runs away, but Saul finds him and convinces him to
return home. Marie is worried George will be charged with burglary,
whilst Clive accuses Leo of being a predator. Clive breaks into
Leo's house and finds Saul's OnlyFans account
as well as the message exchanges between him and George, which he
documents. Leo returns home to find him there.
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| 4 | "Episode 4" | Peter Hoar | Russell T Davies | 8 June 2026[b] | TBD | |
|
In a flashforward, Stephanie and Zee
attempt to protect Leo's house from an angry mob. Two days earlier,
Leo calls the police on Clive, but tells them it was a mistake
after Clive threatens to frame him for paedophilia. Clive and
George attempt to have a conversation, which devolves into an
argument as Clive accuses Leo of infecting George, and ends up
leaving in a rage. Stephanie begs Leo to move, but he believes it
will all calm down soon. Saul becomes worried about his dad after
realising he has found his account. Zee contacts George and he
helps her choose her new name, and the pair go to the Northern
Quarter together. Clive goes to Leo's bar and ends up helping them
when a man assaults a customer. Leo admits that he has been HIV
positive for thirty-two years, but Clive dismisses HIV as fake. In
a conversation with Stephanie, Leo expresses concern about
Clive.
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| 5 | "Episode 5" | Peter Hoar | Russell T Davies | 9 June 2026[b] | TBD | |
|
Leo and Stephanie argue about the
best way to help George, with Stephanie believing Marie would be
supportive. Saul sees the photo of George wearing makeup and
partying with Zee and her friends, he expresses support but warns
George about his friends possible reactions. The Gosses host a
football livestream during which George is violently hazed. Zee is
unable to delete the photo, and goes to George's house, but he
rejects her help. Clive sees Zee, and Leo agrees to help her by
talking to Clive. The confrontation soon devolves into violence,
with the Gosses' friends exposing both Saul's account and George's
photos to their parents. Upon seeing Zee with George, Clive attacks
Leo and accuses him of taking advantage of George. George refutes
this, stating Leo has HIV. After the video of Clive helping Leo
during the fight is exposed, Clive whips the crowd into a frenzy
and take Leo outside to hang him. Saul desperately attempts to
prevent them, but is unsuccessful. Ultimately, Clive and his
accomplices are arrested for murder, George becomes a drug-addict,
Saul gets married and lives happily, Zee chooses the name Sarah and
becomes a teacher, and the bar is turned into a pizzeria. Two years
prior, Stephanie and Leo discuss his divorce, and the effects that
coming out has had on their lives. Leo expresses a belief that
something big will happen.
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Broadcast
The first episode was broadcast on Channel 4 on 31 May 2026.[11] Episodes 1 and 2 were released on the streaming on demand service also called Channel 4 on that day. Episode 2 aired on 1 June, and episodes 3, 4, and 5 aired across consecutive days on 7–9 June. The three episodes were released on streaming on 7 June.[10]
In Australia it is available on Binge. In Israel it is available on yes. In New Zealand it is available on TVNZ+
Reception
The series received a positive reception from both the public and reviewers, garnering four stars or above from publications such as The Guardian,[12] The Independent,[13] and the Financial Times.[14] There was some criticism of its handling of gender-critical feminism, saying that it downplayed its impact on trans rights.[15][16]