Tip Toe ending explained: Who kills Leo and why Russell T Davies says it's 'not a fantasy'
'I think something big is gonna happen'
Tip Toe has the most upsetting ending of any TV show this year – if not ever. That’s a big claim, but Russell T Davies’ Channel 4 drama takes Leo and Clive’s rivalry to the ultimate extreme in its closing minutes.
It’s the episode we’ve all been dreading. Tip Toe opened with a sobering sight: Leo (Alan Cumming) hanging from a lamppost, with neighbours and friends standing below, weeping, screaming, and scowling.
By this point, tensions between Leo and Clive (David Morrissey) have gone beyond their boiling point. Despite what appeared to be a fleeting moment of clarity in Spit and Polish, Clive is every bit as hateful and bigoted (if not more so), oblivious to his gay son George (Jackson Connor) enjoying a liberating night out in Manchester with Zee (Iz Hesketh) and her queer friends.
There’s one big question hanging over the Tip Toe finale from the outset: who kills Leo? Well, by the time the credits roll, the answer is made abundantly and horrifyingly clear. The worst part? Davies thinks it isn’t too far from where we’re heading.
***Warning: spoilers for Tip Toe ahead***
How does Tip Toe end?
The finale of Tip Toe almost entirely takes place around Leo and Clive’s homes. Leo has a day off, so he invites Stephanie (Elizabeth Berrington) round to binge some TV and eat party food.
They have some contentious conversations about Leo’s nature, with Stephanie even accusing him of being a bit misogynistic. But it’s not a friendship-ending chat: she just wants him to be a little more delicate.
Meanwhile, Clive is gearing up for a beer-filled day of watching football with the lads. He doesn’t tell Marie (Pooky Quesnel) about his fight at Spit and Polish the night before, despite the obvious bruising on his fist.
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When the guys arrive, one of Tip Toes’ sad jokes (and truths of life) becomes obvious: despite how appalled they become at the idea of actually being gay, their humour is arguably even more homoerotic than any of the banter between Leo and his employees.
George’s photo causes chaos in Tip Toe
When a photo of George in make-up starts doing the rounds on social media, his brother Saul (Joseph Evans) – who isn’t perfect, but is far more compassionate compared to his dad, mum, or friends – warns him about the consequences.
Whether it’s their dad seeing it or boys bullying him, he recommends that George takes it down.
George contacts Zee, who tries to get it deleted… to no avail. Suddenly, it becomes a ticking time bomb.
As George watches football with the boys, they livestream all sorts of twisted and sexually charged joking between them all. For example, Roddy (George Miller) – a contender for one of the most instantly unlikable characters in a TV show – bends George over and thrusts violently, and everyone just laughs.
Zee sees this online, and after a brief, effective pep talk from Melba (Paul Rhys), who basically tells her to stop equating typing with action and actually do something, she sets off to Leo and Clive’s street to make sure he’s okay.
When she arrives, George is furious, fearing his dad’s wrath and the mockery of the other boys. She retreats into Leo’s home… but not before Clive sees her, which causes him to spiral.
Tip Toe ending: Leo and Clive’s final face-off
Leo, against Stephanie’s advice, decides to try and make peace with Clive (and check if George is okay).
As he walks in, he notices one of the boys (who’s evidently closeted) from Spit and Polish. The dynamic between Leo and everyone – apart from Clive – is pretty light-hearted… at first. The whole thing goes haywire because of Roddy, who constantly ends up on the back foot from every pathetic attempt at a joke.
Roddy casts one of Saul’s explicit OnlyFans videos to the TV. Clive tries to brush it off, saying it’s fine because at least he’s making money. However, the room becomes incredibly heated and unpleasant when they find George’s photo.
Clive pins Leo against the wall. George vows that he wouldn’t touch Leo, because he’s HIV-positive, something that disgusts all of the boys.
It gets even worse when they see the word “Flo” painted on George’s back and the aftermath of Clive’s fight in Spit and Polish.
Leo seals his fate with one comment. “You keep grabbing hold, breathing on me, using your fist… I really don’t know which one of us is gay,” he says.
“String him up,” Clive orders.
Who kills Leo in Tip Toe?
Clive, Roddy, and the vast majority of their friends are directly responsible for Leo’s death in Tip Toe. It’s not just murder: it’s a lynching.
On Clive’s instruction, they tie a cable around Leo’s neck and hang him from the lamppost. Two of the boys restrain Saul, and his pleas for them to stop fall on deaf ears.
When Clive sees Zee, he commands the boys to get “that thing”, but she manages to get back inside before they can hurt her or Stephanie.
Leo begs Clive to stop. “You take pride in your flag. It’s everywhere. Well we need a new flag to say that this street is safe, that our children is safe, that there’s one place in this world where children are safe, and that flag is you. Hoist him up,” Clive screams.
As Leo hangs, the boys run away, leaving Clive standing on the street alone. Stephanie tries and fails to get Leo down, collapsing onto the ground in shrieking despair. Marie walks outside and sees what Clive has done, overcome with rage.
Leo’s death isn’t even the worst part of Tip Toe’s ending
This isn’t to say Leo’s death isn’t horrific. It’s probably one of the worst (if not the worst) TV deaths ever.
However, we also find out what happens to all of the characters next. There is very little light in any of their fates. We have listed them all below, as they’re written in the show:
- Most of the lads are convicted as accomplices to murder, getting sentences of up to 10 years. On appeal, that’s reduced to 4 or 5 years.
- Roddy will get a life sentence.
- Marie will move away with George and Saul. They go to Whitby, then to Scotland, and they change their surname.
- George is always in trouble. Drops out of university. A lot of convictions for drug-related offences.
- Saul thinks his life is over. But then he meets a lovely woman called Annie. He now runs a modest little security firm. He and Annie have 3 children.
- Zee chooses the name Sarah and becomes a teacher.
- Stephanie takes early retirement, then travels the world. She just keeps moving.
- Clive will get a mandatory life sentence.
- Spit and Polish is inherited by Curtis. He sells it. It becomes a pizzeria.
- Melba gets blind drunk on this day, for the rest of his life.
- And Leo’s story isn’t over. It keeps changing. Within 18 months, a search for his name says: Leo Struthers, convicted paedophile.
Everyone’s life – even behind bars – goes on. Leo’s legacy, even in the wake of one of the worst deaths imaginable, falls victim to the bigotry that killed him.
We get one last scene: a flashback with Leo and Stephanie. Leo ponders if the LGBTQ+ community’s increased visibility was a mistake. “Every tiny little thing that happens… it seems like little things, but there’s a violence behind it,” he says.
“I think something big’s gonna happen.”
“We are on a road towards terror”
In Russell T Davies’ eyes, the “public nature” of Leo’s death is “where we are heading”.
“We are living in a Britain now where some people, some politicians even, will happily talk about the burning down of hotels with migrants in them,” he told Channel 4.
“When a woman is imprisoned for encouraging that act, she becomes a folk hero. So, all steps are on this road. This is not a fantasy. You can see the steps we are taking to get there. We are on a road towards terror.”
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