Tip Toe: everything we know about the Russell T Davies drama

Tip Toe is set to be a powerful new thriller series by Russell T Davies who previously created emotional drama It’s A Sin which told the human story of the 1980s AIDS crisis. His latest project Tip Toe will look at the threats and prejudice still faced by the LGBTQ+ community in modern society. 

Set in Manchester’s gay village around Canal Street - also the setting for Russell's 1999 drama Queer As Folk — the tense thriller follows two next-door neighbours who become deadly enemies as the ever-changing world turns them against one another. Being made 25 years on from Queer As Folk, which followed three gay men from Manchester, he is once again looking at the corrosive forces the LGBTQ+ community is coming up against as prejudice creeps back into their lives. 

“It’s my honour to combine my old home, Channel 4, with my second home, Canal Street,” says Russell T Davies. “This is a show I had to write because the world is getting stranger, tougher and darker, and frankly, the fight is on.” 

Here’s everything you need to know about Channel 4 series Tip Toe…

Tip Toe release date

Tip Toe will launch in the UK on Channel 4, likely in late 2025 or 2026.

As soon as a date is announced, we’ll update this page. As well as updating on the US launch and channel. 

Tip Toe plot

Tip Toe follows two next-door neighbours in Manchester, England. There’s Leo, who runs a bar in the gay village around Canal Street, and Clive, an electrician with two teenage sons.

As the world around them grows more tense, the pair grow increasingly suspicious of one another and eventually become mortal enemies. As age-old threats seep back into normal life, the series explores what it means to be safe. 

Tip Toe cast 

The cast forTip Toe has yet to be announced. As soon as names are released, we’ll update you on this page. 

Is there a trailer? 

Not yet but when Channel 4 releases one, we’ll add it to here.

Behind the scenes and more on Tip Toe

Tip Toe is written by Russell T Davies (It’s A Sin, Queer as Folk, Doctor Who) and produced by Quay Street Productions (part of ITV Studios). It's executive produced by Nicola Shindler (Queer as Folk, It’s A Sin, Fool Me Once) and will be directed by Peter Hoar (It’s A Sin, The Last of Us, Nolly).

All about Russell T Davies 

Award-winning screenwriter and producer Russell T Davies is best known as the showrunner for the rebooted Doctor Who, which he wrote from 2005 to 2010 and rejoined in 2023. His gay drama Queer as Folk was a huge sensation from 1999 to 2000 and It’s A Sin, which ran in 2021 and starred pop singer Olly Alexander, is Channel 4’s most popular instant boxset on streaming. Davies also wrote Nolly, Years and Years, A Very English Scandal, Torchwood, Cucumber, Wizards vs Aliens and Revelations.