TVDRAMA
Russell T Davies (It’s A Sin, Queer as Folk, Doctor Who) has a new original drama coming to Channel 4, Tip Toe, exploring the most corrosive forces facing the LGBTQ+ community today.
The five-part series will follow Leo and Clive, who live next door to each other in Manchester. Leo runs a bar on Canal Street, and Clive’s an electrician with two teenage sons. Just as life should be settling down, the world around them is growing more tense. Words become weapons, opinions become radicalized and gradually, two neighbors become deadly enemies in a tense, suburban thriller that challenges everything we consider to be safe.
Coming 25 years after the debut of Queer as Folk, the team behind the iconic show returns to Manchester and Canal Street with this vital story that speaks not just to the queer community but to the world today.
Davies’ most recent Channel 4 drama was It’s A Sin, which examines the human story behind the 1980s AIDS crisis. It went on to become Channel 4’s biggest-ever instant boxset on streaming.
Davies said, “It’s my honor to combine my old home, Channel 4, with my second home, Canal Street. This is a show I had to write because the world is getting stranger, tougher and darker, and frankly, the fight is on.”
Nicola Shindler, executive producer, said, “I am so pleased to be back working with Russell at Channel 4 and to be given the chance to tell such an important story. Tip Toe is not just a timely drama, but a captivating story shot through with Russell’s brilliant wit, warmth and devastating poignancy.”
Ollie Madden, director of Film4 and Channel 4 Drama, said, “It is a huge privilege to back this remarkable new series from Russell, one of the greatest writers of our time and the man behind some of our most era-defining hits, including Queer as Folk and It’s A Sin. We couldn’t love Tip Toe more: it is funny, gripping, full of heart, and an urgent call to arms. It perfectly represents what we’re about at Channel 4, and we are beyond thrilled to be working with Nicola, Russell and Peter again on this very special show.”
It will be produced by Quay Street Productions (part of ITV Studios), with Shindler, Davies and Peter Hoar serving as executive producers.
