Wear the T-shirt this summer. Challenge the stigma.

Spit & Polish

Tip Toe is the new five-part drama from  Russell T. Davies. It’s the writer’s follow up to hit series It’s a Sin – set at the height of the AIDS crisis.  

Set in Canal Street, Tip Toe centres on Leo – played by Alan Cumming – and his fast deteriorating relationship with next door neighbour Clive. At a time when words become weapons and opinions become radicalised.  

With deadly consequences. 

Happily, Tip Toe does what It’s a Sin couldn’t. It shows Leo as a man living well with HIV more than 30 years after his diagnosis. Living his life where just one pill a day keeps his HIV in check and means he can’t pass it on to partners.  

Much of the action takes place at Leo’s bar, Spit & Polish. 

But Spit & Polish isn’t just a bar, it's where people feel safe, celebrated and free. It's home from home. 

You can wear this Tip Toe T-shirt and show your support for people like Leo living with HIV. Because while the world has moved forward, HIV stigma hasn’t disappeared. Too many people are still met with judgement, silence, and isolation. 

Wear the T-shirt and join the movement to end HIV stigma. 

Profits from every T-shirt sold are shared equally, with 50% going to Terrence Higgins Trust and 50% going to George House Trust to support their vital work.

It’s an honour to portray Alan Cumming’s character, Leo Struthers, as a man living with HIV since 1994. It feels like the natural legacy of It’s a Sin. There wasn't the time in that show to show the long-term story, that medications were found which saved so many lives. So this feels like a right and proper continuation. In my role as patron of the George House Trust, and a supporter of Terrence Higgins Trust, I've often been asked by people in both organisations to show modern-day characters who are HIV+ and living straightforward, happy lives, so it’s an honour to do so in Tip Toe. And there's some contentious stuff in there too, as the age-old problem of stigma raises its head, as well as the problems of HIV denial. The fight never ends, but Leo’s ready on the front line.

Russell T Davies.
Russell T. Davies

This isn't just a T-shirt, not just a homage to Leo’s oasis, it's a statement.

 
 

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