Russell T Davies, a figure behind influential series such as Queer as Folk, It’s A Sin, Years and Years, and A Very English Scandal, has spent nearly four decades chronicling the evolving landscape of LGBTQ life. However, his latest project, Tip Toe, reflects a jarring reality he never expected to depict: a 2026 where gains for queer rights appear to be unraveling amid a surge of hostility. “I’m kind of sad that having done ‘Queer as Folk’ in 1999, that then you would have imagined 2026 would be a lot happier with equal gay rights everywhere, instead of seeing it going wrong,” Davies said. “There is such ha. “The impossibility of this is advancing on us rapidly, tumultuously,” Davies said. “My God, I had to write about it.”. Over almost four decades, Russell T Davies has established himself as one of the most influential TV showrunners in the UK — and in the global queer community.
The series, which premiered in the UK in May and began streaming on Starz in the US this Friday, is set against a backdrop of intensifying bigotry. Davies describes a sense of sadness that, decades after his groundbreaking 1999 work Queer as Folk, the world has not progressed toward universal acceptance. Instead, he highlights a climate where fear and venom are being amplified by powerful voices, leading to a dangerous environment he felt compelled to document.
Set in Manchester, Tip Toe follows Leo, a gay bar owner portrayed by Alan Cumming, who navigates mounting friction with his neighbor, Clive, played by David Morrissey. Clive, a man trapped in an unhappy marriage, becomes radicalized by social media content and develops a baseless, dangerous fixation on Leo, eventually suspecting him of targeting his teenage son, George. This narrative explores how digital misinformation and political rhetoric can translate into real-world consequences, mirroring a resurgence of outdated, hateful tropes accusing queer individuals of recruiting children.
Davies believes this hostility is not occurring in a vacuum. He attributes much of the inflammatory discourse to political leaders, specifically identifying former US President Donald Trump and former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. He argues that when figures in positions of authority normalize bullying and bigotry, they provide a license for their supporters to replicate that behavior in their own lives.
The impact of this rhetoric is measurable. Gallup polls indicate a slight decline in support for same-sex marriage in the US since 2022, reversing years of progress. Furthermore, policy shifts in Washington have focused on restricting the rights of transgender individuals regarding medical care, identification, and sports participation, moves which the ACLU has characterized as an attempt to marginalize the transgender community from public life.
Davies’ own experiences underscore the severity of the shift. After casting transgender actor Yasmin Finney in his 2023 Doctor Who revival, he was subjected to aggressive online harassment, including unfounded accusations of pedophilia and grooming. He noted that while he previously ignored such vitriol, the line between online anger and physical threats is blurring. He pointed to the tragic killing of two men outside a Tucson, Arizona, gay bar—where the assailant allegedly carried a list of LGBTQ-affiliated businesses—as a chilling indicator of the current climate.
Within Tip Toe, the character Melba, played by Paul Rhys, captures the uncertainty of this era, noting that while the queer community was once openly despised, the current online vitriol feels hauntingly similar. The show also touches upon a complex internal debate within the movement: whether the increased visibility of queer characters in media has become a double-edged sword that inadvertently fuels the rage of those opposed to shifting social norms. Reflecting on the state of Britain in 2026, Davies recalled encountering a transgender couple who expressed profound fear, leaving him to question the trajectory of modern society as he continues his work to keep a historical record of the queer experience. He never imagined he’d be creating a show set in 2026 where things seemed to be devolving for his queer characters. But you read the stuff online now and it sounds just the same,” bar regular Melba (Paul Rhys) tells Leo in the premiere. “I used to walk into a room and go, ‘Tah-dah, we were despised.
