Alan Cumming loves to delight us in 'Traitors.' But in 'Tip Toe,' he wants to 'traumatize' us

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Set us as preferred Alan Cumming is in his dressing room on the set of “The Traitors,” where a rack of flamboyant costumes hangs behind him.After finding a treat for his dog Lala, who occasionally makes an appearance on the Peacock competition series, he sits down in front of his computer and sighs.

“I just interviewed 23 people,” he says, speaking over Zoom during his lunch break.“I’m exhausted.”Cumming, 61, has every reason to be tired.

He just returned to Scotland from Los Angeles, where he won his third consecutive Emmy for reality host for “The Traitors.” He serves as artistic director of the Pitlochry Festival Theatre, where he recently starred in “A History of Paper” and will play Henry Higgins in a November production of “My Fair Lady.” “The Traitors: New Blood,” Cumming’s fifth season as host, is airing Thursdays on NBC, and he’s already filming Season 6, set for early 2027.“This year has been too much,” Cumming admits.“I am always busy.

But I’ve started saying no or taking a week off between things.” He grins.“I’m aware my schedule is so insane.”However, the actor will always find time for something meaningful, as is the case with “Tip Toe,” a five-episode limited series premiering Friday on Starz (the series had its U.K.

debut in May).It was written by prolific British screenwriter Russell T Davies, who had Cumming in mind to play Leo Struthers, a queer bar owner in Manchester.

The series navigates the tumultuous relationship between Leo and his neighbor Clive Goss (David Morrissey), a family man whose conservative views are problematically reinforced by the internet.His unchanging mind leads to an act of extreme violence against Leo.“I met with Russell to talk about ‘Doctor Who’ when he was first rebooting it and we’ve been trying to work together e...