Russell T Davies returns to Channel 4 with brand new drama Tip Toe

“I used to walk into rooms and go, ta-daa! Now I walk on tip toe. In case I get seen.”

Channel 4 has commissioned a powerfully resonant new original drama, Tip Toe, from the multi award-winning Russell T Davies (It’s A Sin, Queer as Folk, Doctor Who), produced by Quay Street Productions (part of ITV Studios) and executive produced by Nicola Shindler (Queer as Folk, It’s A Sin, Fool Me Once). The series will be directed by Peter Hoar (It’s A Sin, The Last of Us, Nolly).

Russell T Davies’ most recent Channel 4 drama was the extraordinary and critically acclaimed, It’s A Sin, which powerfully examined the devastating human story behind the 1980s AIDS crisis and went on to become Channel 4’s biggest ever instant boxset on streaming. 

Now, in Tip Toe, Davies will explore the most corrosive forces facing the LGBTQ+ community today, examining the danger as prejudice creeps back into our lives. Problems we thought were long-gone are returning, toughened and weaponised, until no one knows truth from lies any more.

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, Clive’s an electrician, with two teenage sons. But just as life should be settling down, the world around them is growing more tense. Words become weapons, opinions become radicalised, and gradually, two neighbours become deadly enemies in a tense, suburban thriller which challenges everything we consider to be safe. The series, populated with a cast of vibrant characters and underscored with Davies’ trademark wit and deft humour, is an urgent yet gripping tale that brings a spotlight to bear on the re-emergence of an incipient threat.

Twenty-five years later, the team behind the ground-breaking Queer as Folk, are returning to Manchester and Canal Street, with this vital story that speaks not just to the queer community but to the world today.

Russell T Davies, Writer and Creator, said, “It’s my honour 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.”

Tip Toe was commissioned by Ollie Madden, Director of Film4 and Channel 4 Drama and Gemma Boswell, Commissioning Editor for Drama at Channel 4. It will be produced by Quay Street Productions (part of ITV Studios), with Nicola Shindler, Russell T Davies and Peter Hoar serving as Executive Producers.

Casting will be announced in due course.

Press Contacts

Kiran Shannon

Head of Communications, Scripted, Channel 4

Kshannon@channel4.co.uk 

Ryan Davies

Head of Television, organic PR

ryan.davies@organic-publicity.com 

About Quay Street Productions

About Quay Street Productions (part of ITV Studios) Quay Street Productions was founded by multi-award-winning producer Nicola Shindler in 2021, to make contemporary, provocative, entertaining, and engaging drama for U.K. and global audiences.

The production company builds on Shindler’s reputation to deliver compelling drama, with her previous credits including It’s A Sin, Fool Me Once, Last Tango in Halifax, Ridley Road, Finding Alice, The Stranger, Happy Valley and Queer as Folk.

Based in Manchester, Quay Street Productions puts the writers and talent at the centre of the production process. Welcoming voices from all different backgrounds, Quay Street Productions promotes a diversity of storytelling working with new and established writers. Russell T Davies drama Nolly for Quay Street Productions, starring Helena Bonham Carter as soap opera legend Noele “Nolly” Gordon, and Significant Other starring Katherine Parkinson and Youssef Kerkour, both launched on ITVX and ITV in 2023. Feature-length drama, Men Up, written by Matthew Barry starring Iwan Rheon aired on BBC One Christmas 2023 and After the Flood, written by Mick Ford and starring Sophie Rundle launched on ITV1 and ITVX last year.

Harlan Coben's Netflix series Fool Me Once, starring Michelle Keegan, Adeel Akhtar, Richard Armitage and Joanna Lumley, premiered globally last January and joined Netflix’s chart of its Top 10 most popular English-language shows of all time, with over 94 million views since launch in January 2024. Dead Hot, commissioned by Prime Video for UK and Eire, dropped in March 2024 followed by Tubi to serve the US and The Red King aired on UKTV in April 2024.

Run Away, another Harlan Coben adaptation series for Netflix, is now in production as part of their ongoing collaboration and a second series of After the Flood for ITV will commence filming soon. The Stolen Girl for Disney+, Lazarus, a Harlan Coben series for Prime Video and The Guest for BBC, are set to launch this year.