Channel 4’s Tip Toe leaves viewers speechless with harrowing ending
SPOILER WARNING: The forewarned tragedy explores the politics shaping the modern world, ending as it began
By Aaron Sugg
Channel 4 LGBTQ+ drama Tip Toe has left viewers speechless after the final episode landed on the streamer last night (8 June).
The dark new five-part thriller from Russell T Davies debuted on Channel 4 in May 2026, starring Emmy-winning actor Alan Cumming as he navigates rising anti-LGBTQ+ hostility in Manchester’s Canal Street.
Cumming acts as Leo, the owner of a gay bar called Spit & Polish, opposite David Morrissey as his increasingly hostile neighbour Clive.
Tip Toe ends as it began
The pair undergo an uncomfortable relationship after Leo acts as a queer role model to Clive’s son George (Jackson Connor), much to his father’s dismay.
SPOILER: Tip Toe ends as it began, showing a disturbing image of Cumming’s character Leo hanging from a lamppost outside his home.
The forewarned tragedy dives deep into the concerning politics shaping the modern world, with notable comparisons to the real-life recent rollback in LGBTQ+ rights.
India Willoughby praises Tip Toe as “the most powerful TV there has been”
Just watched the final episode of #Tiptoe – please watch. So important. The ending is up there with the most powerful tv there has been. Takes your breath away. Brilliant @russelldavies63 . Fuck terfs – because they are the poison behind what is happening. Well done @Channel4 for… pic.twitter.com/nETsmocmjK
— India Willoughby (@IndiaWilloughby) June 7, 2026
The series has earned an 86 per cent rating on Rotten Tomatoes and has received unwavering praise from viewers for its harrowing depiction of dangerous ideals.
Broadcaster and trans activist India Willoughby took to X after watching the final episode, urging the public to “please watch”.
“Just watched the final episode of Tip Toe – please watch. So important. The ending is up there with the most powerful TV there has been. Takes your breath away,” she said, praising Davies for his screenwriting.
Writer Russell T Davies has been praised for his harrowing take on modern-day society
“Fuck TERFs – because they are the poison behind what is happening,” Willoughby continued, taking aim at the trans-exclusionary radical feminist movement.
Other online users described it as a “horror”, seemingly for its introspective ending and its reflective take on modern-day society.
The Celebrity Traitors star Alan Carr described the series as “completely gripping”, whilst actress Jane Danson said she “couldn’t sleep thinking about it last night – the most powerful piece of television.”
Alan Cumming dubbed Tip Toe “gruelling” and “intense”
Ahead of Tip Toe’s release on Channel 4, lead actor Cumming told Attitude Uncut: “Tip Toe is the most gruelling and intense thing I’ve ever done,” as he appeared on the cover.
Davies said he wrote the show in anger, furious about how the LGBTQ+ community is being treated across the globe in recent years.
“Everything that we’re worried about. Every trans argument, every queer argument, the march of the right and Reform taking away our rights: that is what this is,” said the writer.
“I’m worried about what’s on its way” – Davies on the future of LGBTQ+ rights
“I’m worried about what’s on its way and, so angry, I came home from Cardiff to Manchester and I wrote it very fast.”
The final episode of Tip Toe airs on Channel 4 tonight (9 June) at 9pm, with all episodes available to stream now via their website.
Coinciding with the series, Attitude, together with Channel 4, have released a digital series titled Tip Toe or Ta-Da, shot in the Canal Street bar that serves as the real-world setting for Russell T Davies’ Tip Toe.
All episodes are available on Attitude’s YouTube channel upon release.