All the MPs who praised Adolescence are shockingly silent about Tip Toe
Adolescence and Tip Toe both got people talking – but not with as much impact (Netflix | Channel 4)
Despite its name, Channel 4’s Tip Toe has thundered onto our TV screens, delivering a mini series that is both harrowing yet superb in its brutality. Russell T Davies doesn’t hold back, capturing in heartbreaking clarity how regressive society has become on LGBTQIA+ inclusivity. Such depictions should be showered with praise from casual viewers to MPs, yet the latter are oh so silent.
What makes their lack of response such a deafening cacophony is how contrasted it is compared to their reaction when Netflix’s Adolescence aired. Multiple authorities, including the police and the Labour government, remarked on Adolescence’s unvarnished, “bold” storytelling as it explored the actions of Jamie Miller (Owen Cooper), a 13-year-old accused of murdering his peer, Katie Leonard (Emilia Holliday).
Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke of the “abhorrent” violence against girls and women, stating that the “growing problem” needed to be tackled. He wasn’t alone in his demand for change, with Starmer’s Labour colleague, Anneliese Midgley, suggesting that Adolescence should be shown in schools as well as parliament, such was the impression it left upon her. That came into effect in April 2025, with the series now accessible to all secondary schools via Into Film+.
Adolescence spawned an entire conversation virtually overnight, with reports on misogynistic content polluting social media shared by Amnesty International in the wake of the show’s release. Forced to look at the ugly truth of our society, one which adults are often far too ignorant of, we momentarily took accountability for taking our hands off the wheel and leaving the younger generation exposed to “misogynistic influencers”.
From the very opening scene of Tip Toe, similar rallying cries to action should have started to circulate. Davies’ creation starts with Leo Struthers’ (Alan Cumming) murder; it begins at the end, screaming at its viewers to pay attention because the events leading up to this painful conclusion could have been avoided, if only those in power – those with reach – cared enough to face intolerance head on.
Yes, Leo is murdered by his neighbour, Clive Goss (David Morrissey), but it’s the radicalisation Clive’s been vulnerable to that brings him to that tipping point, radicalisation that’s seeped into every aspect of daily life as the government, both at home and overseas, has done nothing to protect what little rights the LGBTQIA+ community still has. Nobody is in doubt that the manosphere is dangerous, but so too are the rampant homophobic and transphobic policies that are actively fuelling hatred, whether the government wants to admit it or not.
Unlike Adolescence, however, Tip Toe didn’t release all of its episodes at once, and so I tried to convince myself that the deluge of support would come once we saw the last piece of its distressing puzzle fall into place. Much like the government, I was ignorant of the truth: that kind of advocacy wasn’t coming.
Tip Toe’s “harrowing” finale reaches a crushing crescendo that sees Leo lynched by Clive and his friends; you know it’s been coming from the beginning, yet the savagery of watching every second of it play out hits differently.
Many viewers, myself included, sobbed at how close to home the mob mentality of Britain (and beyond) is right now, for while the show is a work of fiction, it’s one that’s firmly grounded in reality. Yet this breathtakingly haunting finale, which is arguably on par with Adolescence’s “daunting” one-shot scene, has fallen on deaf ears. Or should I say, it’s fallen on ears that are deliberately choosing to ignore what they’re hearing.
It’s easier that way, for the MPs who feared for the nation’s youths are the ones complicit in maintaining this toxic status quo that has queer people scared. With Adolescence, MPs made their apologies because, as far as many were concerned, they’re not totally to blame. Yes, they took their eye off the ball somewhat, but the wickedness of outside influence is difficult to contain. That’s their defence, and they’re sticking to it – the villain is social media, not them.
It’s not so easy to explain away the animosity towards the queer community that they’ve steadily nurtured. They’ve made it impossible for trans people to use public bathrooms, queer displays have been removed from local libraries, Pride celebrations have been cancelled, and trans girls are excluded from Girlguiding. The government has tied the metaphorical noose and handed it to bigots eager to tighten it.
Tip Toe is just as potent as Adolescence in both its message and in its sublime acting, yet it’s not being taken seriously. We, as queer people, are once again forced to endure being disregarded, only this time, we’re being disregarded because we’ve been falsely painted as a threat rather than being seen for what we actually are: vulnerable in the face of unrelenting intolerance.
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