Russell T Davies thriller Tip Toe explores online disinformation and neighbour feud

On a rainy day in Manchester, the BBC was shown around a kitchen that looked like any ordinary terraced house. Dishes sat in the sink and food filled the fridge, but a glance outside at blue skies revealed the truth. The house was a television set.

The occupant was Alan Cumming. At the kitchen table sat Russell T Davies. The BBC had been invited behind the scenes of Davies' upcoming thriller, Tip Toe.

The series follows two neighbours, one gay and one straight, whose feud grows darker as one of them sinks deeper into online disinformation, with serious consequences for both.

Davies said he sees the world getting worse and is worried about the future for his nieces and nephews. He said he feels bound to comment on current events, though he doubts television can change the world. He noted that It's a Sin led to higher HIV testing rates and Mr Bates vs The Post Office drew attention to the Horizon IT scandal.

Alan Cumming plays Leo Struthers, a 59-year-old who owns a bar in Manchester's Gay Village. Davies said he had tried for more than 20 years to cast Cumming in one of his shows. Cumming was offered the role before the script was written and said he was drawn to a twist in the first episode: his character is dead.

"As the series goes on and we all get to like everybody, and worry for them, you almost forget I'm dead," Cumming said. "But we don't know how it's happened, or when it's happened in the story. It's really clever, it's suspenseful. It's also so relevant and so needed."

David Morrissey plays Clive Goss, Leo's next-door neighbour. It is the first time the two actors have worked together, though they have been friends and once neighbours for more than 40 years. Morrissey said the friendship helps when filming tough scenes.

"We have to do some pretty tough stuff, but the great thing about being with an actor who is a friend is that you can really push it," Morrissey said. "We can be in a scene which is very confrontational," but once the director calls cut, "we're hugging each other and making sure each other are alright."

Newcomers Joseph Evans and Jackson Connor play brothers Saul and George Goss. During a break from filming a scene with Morrissey, the pair sat in what would be their front garden if the house were not a plywood set inside a Manchester studio.

Davies said that when Queer as Folk first aired in 1999, he expected gay and queer life to reach full equality within 25 years. He now believes progress has stalled.

"We kind of got close to that about 10 years ago, but actually I think things are souring," he said. "I feel more hostility in the air, more aggression towards us."