Tip Toe is a 2026 British television psychological thriller miniseries for Channel 4 written by Russell T Davies and starring Alan Cumming and David Morrissey.
Contents
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. Events unfold involving Clive's son George and online conspiracy theories, before the series reaches its conclusion. Title cards at the end of the last episode suggest that the series is based on a true story, which is not the case.
Cast
Alan Cumming as Leo Struthers. Born in Scotland, Leo runs a bar called Spit and Polish on Manchester's Canal Street.
David Morrissey as Clive Goss, Leo's next-door neighbour and an electrician.
Elizabeth Berrington as Stephanie Dale, Leo's supportive straight friend.
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
Jolyon Benson as Frederic Hopper
Production
The series was commissioned by Channel 4 in February 2025. 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. The wider cast includes Elizabeth Berrington, Denise Welch and Pooky Quesnel, amongst others.
Filming began in Manchester in September 2025.
Broadcast
The first episode was broadcast on Channel 4 on 31 May 2026. 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.
International airings
In Australia it is available on Binge. In New Zealand it is available on TVNZ+. In the United States the series was acquired by Starz, which will broadcast on 2 October 2026. It premiered in Spain on HBO Max on 16 July 2026.
Reception
The series received a positive reception from both the public and reviewers, garnering four stars or above from publications such as The Guardian, The Independent, and the Financial Times. There has been criticism of its handling of gender-critical feminism and downplaying the impact of that on trans rights.
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 93% based on 14 reviews, with an average rating of 8.6/10.
