Filming has begun on Tip Toe, Russell T Davies’ (It’s a Sin, Queer as Folk, Years and Years) new drama for Channel 4, Alan Cumming and David Morrissey have been announced as cast leads for the series.
Alan Cumming (The Traitors, Glenrothan) is Leo, vivid, funny and dynamic, he’s the owner of a bar called Spit & Polish in Manchester’s Gay Village. David Morrissey (Sherwood, Daddy Issues) is Clive, Leo’s unsmiling and troubled next-door neighbour.
Alan Cumming says, “The best things in life are worth waiting for, and the best people. Russell T Davies and I have been trying to work together for over 20 years. Now, not only are we working together but doing so with one of my dearest, oldest friends, Dave Morrissey, and in a piece of work I think is so brilliant and prescient and necessary. I don’t say this lightly, but this is truly an honour.”
David Morrissey says, “I’m delighted to be working with Russell again, and also to be working with Alan who has been a great friend of mine for over 40 years but we’ve never had the chance to work together. It’s a privilege to be with them both on this astonishing piece of work”
The five-part series will follow Leo and Clive who have lived next door to each other in Manchester for almost 15 years. 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 tale that brings a spotlight to bear on the prejudices which are creeping back into our lives.
Also joining the cast are Pooky Quesnel (The A Word, Moonflower Murders) as Clive’s wife Marie, Jackson Connor (Phoenix Rise, Masters of the Air) as Clive’s youngest son George, Joseph Evans (The Map That Leads To You, CC Emily) as George’s older brother Saul, Elizabeth Berrington (Lost Boys & Fairies, Last Night In Soho) as Leo’s best friend Stephanie, Iz Hesketh (Renegade Nell, Hollyoaks) as Zee and Shakeel Kimotho (La Cage Aux Folles (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre)), CATS (International Tour) as Hanna, who both work at Spit & Polish, Luyanda Unati Lewis-Nyawo (Wednesday, Devs) as the bar’s manager Judy, Paul Rhys (Saltburn, Napoleon) as Melba, a Canal Street fixture, Charlie Condou (Doctor Who, Unforgotten) as Leo’s ex-husband Curtis, and Denise Welch (Waterloo Road, Coronation Street) as Diane.
Tip Toe will be produced by Quay Street Productions (part of ITV Studios), with Nicola Shindler, Russell T Davies, Peter Hoar and Alan Cumming serving as Executive Producers. The series will be produced by Phil Collinson, Directed by Peter Hoar and is cast by Andy Pryor. Gemma Boswell is the Commissioning Editor at Channel 4. Tip Toe is produced in association with ITV Studios who will distribute the show internationally.
Jon Creamer
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