Starz Scoops Up Buzzy Queer Drama ‘Tip Toe’
Russell T. Davies's critically acclaimed series is coming to Starz later this year.
Starz has officially picked up the very of-the-moment queer drama Tip Toe, the latest project from former Doctor Who showrunner Russell T. Davies.
While Davies is probably (and rightly) best known as the man who brought the Whoniverse back to life in 2005, he’s also had a hand in several other groundbreaking and deeply politically-tinged series, including the original Queer as Folk, critically acclaimed AIDS drama It’s a Sin, and disturbingly prescient dystopian sci-fi series Year & Years. But, if the U.K. reviews are anything to go by, Tip Toe may just be his best yet.
Described as urgent, thought-provoking, and visceral, the limited series is a tense exploration of the increasingly dark and corrosive forces impacting the gay community. Like Queer as Folk, the show takes place on Manchester’s iconic Canal Street and follows the story of next-door neighbors Leo (Alan Cumming) and Clive (David Morrissey). Though they’ve been perfectly pleasant to one another for over fifteen years, their relationship slowly begins to sour in the wake of rising radicalization and prejudice in the world around them.
“Davies has created a gripping and deeply affecting series that speaks directly to the cultural tensions and anxieties shaping modern life,” Starz Networks PresidentAlison Hoffman said in a statement. “Anchored by extraordinary performances from Alan Cumming and David Morrissey, Tip Toe examines identity, fear, and polarization in our society in a way that is at once funny, devastating, and profoundly human.”
Here’s the series’ synopsis.
Leo and Clive have lived next door to each other in Manchester for almost 15 years. Leo runs Spit & Polish, a bar on Canal Street and Clive is an electrician with two teenage sons. But just as life should be settling down for both, the world around them is growing more tense. Words become weapons, opinions become radicalized and gradually the two neighbors become deadly enemies in a tense, thrilling drama that spotlights the prejudices that have started to creep back into our lives, in a story that speaks not just to the queer community, but to the world at large.
David Morrissey and Alan Cumming in 'Tip Toe' (Starz)
Alongside Cumming and Morrissey, the series also stars Pooky Quesnel (Moonflower Murders) as Clive’s wife Marie; Joseph Evans (All Creatures Great & Small) as their older son, Saul; and Jackson Connor (Masters of the Air) as their younger son, George. The series also stars Elizabeth Berrington (Lost Boys & Fairies) as Leo’s best friend, Stephanie; plus Iz Hesketh (Renegade Nell) as Zee, and small-screen newcomer Shakeel Kimotho as Hanna, who both work at Spit & Polish.
Other cast members include Luyanda Unati Lewis-Nyawo (Wednesday), Paul Rhys (Saltburn), Charlie Condou (Unforgotten), and Denise Welch (Inspector George Gently).
Davies wrote all five episodes of the series, with Peter Hoar (The Last of Us) directing and Phil Collinson producing. Davies, Hoar, and Cumming are all executive producers, alongside Nicola Shindler of Quay Street Productions.
Tip Toe does not yet have a premiere date, but it is expected to debut on Starz later in 2026.
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