Alan Cumming and David Morrissey star in the gripping Manchester-set series. Plus, a wild tale of charity shenanigans involving One Direction. Here’s what to watch this evening.
9pm, Channel 4
A harrowing scene on a regular residential street in Manchester ropes you into this new drama by Russell T Davies. It then rewinds a few weeks to tell the lively story of how the main characters – Canal Street bar owner Leo (Alan Cumming) and electrician Clive (David Morrissey) – ended up in such an awful situation. With the executive producer and director of It’s a Sin working with Davies again, the team have created a powerful, nuanced and urgent look at the modern state of culture wars in LGBTQ+ communities. As one of Leo’s friends from the gay club puts it: “I used to walk into a room and go: ‘Ta-da!’ Now I tiptoe, just in case …” Hollie Richardson