TIP TOE: ALAN CUMMING AND DAVID MORRISSEY LEAD CAST OF NEW RUSSELL T DAVIES DRAMA

Filming has commences on new Channel 4 drama Tip Toe from multi-BAFTA winning writer Russell T Davies. Today, 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.

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.

Plus Iz Hesketh (Renegade Nell) 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) as the bar’s manager Judy, Paul Rhys (Saltburn) as Melba, a Canal Street fixture, Charlie Condou (Doctor Who) as Leo’s ex-husband Curtis, and Denise Welch (Waterloo Road,) as Diane.

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”

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.”

More details will be announced in due course.