{ "id": "eprvje1vgb", "slug": "tofu-2015-tv-series", "title": "Tofu (2015 TV series)", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted", "label": "Unscripted, reality, and web-native series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native", "label": "Web-native and streaming-original series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.early_english_webseries", "label": "Early English-language web series (1997–mid 2010s)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.early_english_webseries" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted", "label": "Western Europe · 2001 to 2020: Unscripted, reality, and web-native series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted", "path": [ { "id": "geo.weu", "label": "Western Europe", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001", "label": "Western Europe · 2001 to 2020", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted", "label": "Unscripted, reality, and web-native series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Tofu (2015) is a British eight-part factual web series on 4oD, presented by Benjamin Cook and written by Russell T Davies, companion to Cucumber and Banana; real people and the dramas' casts discuss modern sex, titled after erection-hardness categories.", "snippet": "Tofu (2015) is a British eight-part factual web series on 4oD, presented by Benjamin Cook and written by Russell T Davies, companion to Cucumber and Banana; real people and the dramas' casts discuss modern sex, titled after erection-hardness categories.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.early_english_webseries", "markdown": "# Tofu (2015 TV series)\n\n**Tofu** is a British factual web series from 2015 in which real people and the casts of the dramas *Cucumber* and *Banana* talk openly about modern sex, presented by the YouTuber Benjamin Cook and released on [Channel 4](https://www.edgepedia.org/channel-4)'s on-demand platform 4oD.[1](https://www.channel4.com/press/news/introduction-tofu-benjamin-cook) It ran for eight episodes of roughly 10 to 11 minutes each as the documentary strand of a three-part project conceived by writer [Russell T Davies](https://www.edgepedia.org/russell-t-davies), alongside the Channel 4 drama *Cucumber* and the E4 anthology *Banana*.[2](https://www.channel4.com/press/news/russell-t-davies-explores-21st-century-gay-life-new-drama-c4) • [3](https://watch.plex.tv/es/show/tofu?context.unit=HC)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Format | Eight-part factual documentary series with sketch comedy and fantasy elements, about 10–11 minutes per episode, on 4oD[1](https://www.channel4.com/press/news/introduction-tofu-benjamin-cook) • [3](https://watch.plex.tv/es/show/tofu?context.unit=HC) |\n| First availability | Episode 1 went up on demand at 10:30pm on 22 January 2015, following that evening's *Cucumber* and *Banana* premieres[4](https://www.northernsoul.me.uk/russell-t-davies/) |\n| Key people | Written by Russell T Davies; made by Benjamin Cook, who also presents; executive producers Nicola Shindler and Davies for RED Production Company[5](https://ottasia.com/title/tv/96513/tofu?country=PH) • [2](https://www.channel4.com/press/news/russell-t-davies-explores-21st-century-gay-life-new-drama-c4) |\n| Title origin | Named for the softest of four erection-hardness categories in a Swiss study: tofu, peeled banana, banana, cucumber[6](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/jan/17/russell-t-davies-cucumber-banana-tofu) |\n| Participants | More than 40 interviewees of varied ages, genders and orientations, plus the casts of *Cucumber* and *Banana*[1](https://www.channel4.com/press/news/introduction-tofu-benjamin-cook) |\n| Ratings | Audience score of 6.5 out of 10 on Plex; 5.8 on the OTTASIA listing[3](https://watch.plex.tv/es/show/tofu?context.unit=HC) • [5](https://ottasia.com/title/tv/96513/tofu?country=PH) |\n| Status | One season only; not currently available on the streaming services tracked by several guides[3](https://watch.plex.tv/es/show/tofu?context.unit=HC) • [5](https://ottasia.com/title/tv/96513/tofu?country=PH) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Content and participants\n\nEach episode turned a cast of over 40 interviewees loose on the week's subject, which covered matters ranging from great sex and terrible sex to abstinence, adolescent desire, televised sex, dating apps, revealing one's sexuality, and beyond.[1](https://www.channel4.com/press/news/introduction-tofu-benjamin-cook) Cook described the series as combining the raunchy with tales of \"great beauty, sensitivity and bravery\", covering first sex, virginity, pressure, sexlessness, tragedy, and triumph.[1](https://www.channel4.com/press/news/introduction-tofu-benjamin-cook) The interviewees ranged widely in age and identity; Cook's introduction names, among others, a 54-year-old woman who had made sex irrelevant to her life, a professional dominatrix who transitioned at 43, an 18-year-old preparing to come out in a YouTube video to more than 40,000 people, and a 60-year-old grandmother who dated men in their twenties.[1](https://www.channel4.com/press/news/introduction-tofu-benjamin-cook)\n\nThe actors of the companion dramas appeared as themselves: Bethany Black (Helen in *Cucumber*), Fisayo Akinade (Dean), [Julie Hesmondhalgh](https://www.edgepedia.org/julie-hesmondhalgh) (Cleo), Ceallach Spellman (Adam), Vincent Franklin (Henry), [Rufus Hound](https://www.edgepedia.org/rufus-hound) (Rupert), and Cyril Nri (Lance).[5](https://ottasia.com/title/tv/96513/tofu?country=PH) In the first episode Bethany Black said that \"especially in this country, I think we have a fucked up idea about sex\", a line Cook cited as the problem the series set out to address.[1](https://www.channel4.com/press/news/introduction-tofu-benjamin-cook) The final episode had the public and the two casts reveal their fantasies and most outrageous sex stories.[9](https://www.playpilot.com/global/show/tofu-pptiiXFD/season-1/)\n\n## Place in the Cucumber, Banana, Tofu trilogy\n\nChannel 4 commissioned the three strands together in November 2013 from Davies, the creator of *[Queer as Folk](https://www.edgepedia.org/queer-as-folk-british-tv-series)* and showrunner of *Doctor Who* from 2005 to 2010, with Piers Wenger, then Channel 4's head of drama, as commissioner and RED Production Company making the shows under executive producers Nicola Shindler and Davies.[2](https://www.channel4.com/press/news/russell-t-davies-explores-21st-century-gay-life-new-drama-c4) • [7](https://cmf-fmc.ca/now-next/articles/cucumber-banana-tofu-a-british-transmedia-recipe/) *Cucumber*, an 8 × 60-minute serial for Channel 4, follows Henry (Vincent Franklin) and his boyfriend Lance (Cyril Nri) through a disastrous date night; *Banana*, 8 × 30 minutes on E4, tells one-off stories about younger characters orbiting Henry.[2](https://www.channel4.com/press/news/russell-t-davies-explores-21st-century-gay-life-new-drama-c4) *Tofu* extends that world online: each week it takes up real issues raised in the dramas, with members of the public and the dramas' actors testifying about love, sex and intimacy.[2](https://www.channel4.com/press/news/russell-t-davies-explores-21st-century-gay-life-new-drama-c4) • [7](https://cmf-fmc.ca/now-next/articles/cucumber-banana-tofu-a-british-transmedia-recipe/)\n\nThe Canada Media Fund described the arrangement as a transmedia story, with three series on three channels telling one connected story; Davies himself compared *Cucumber* to a novel and *Banana* to a set of short stories about its peripheral characters.[7](https://cmf-fmc.ca/now-next/articles/cucumber-banana-tofu-a-british-transmedia-recipe/) • [8](https://www.prolificnorth.co.uk/news/russell-t-davies-new-series-cucumber-and-banana/) Filming began in spring 2014 in Manchester.[2](https://www.channel4.com/press/news/russell-t-davies-explores-21st-century-gay-life-new-drama-c4)\n\n## The title\n\nAll three titles come from a classification Davies read about in which a Swiss scientific institute divided erection hardness into four categories, from softest to firmest: tofu, peeled banana, banana, and cucumber.[6](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/jan/17/russell-t-davies-cucumber-banana-tofu) Davies said that on reading this he \"knew I had my drama\".[2](https://www.channel4.com/press/news/russell-t-davies-explores-21st-century-gay-life-new-drama-c4) In his introduction to the show, Cook joked about the name's effect on people who assumed the series was named after the blandest of foods, answering that \"unlike tofu the food, Tofu the show is vibrant and gorgeous, and crammed full of smut\".[1](https://www.channel4.com/press/news/introduction-tofu-benjamin-cook)\n\n## Production credits and availability\n\nCredits vary slightly between databases. OTTASIA lists the series as created by Nicola Shindler and Russell T Davies, written by Davies and produced by Julie Gardner, with Benjamin Cook as presenter.[5](https://ottasia.com/title/tv/96513/tofu?country=PH) Plex credits Cook as director and Michaela Fereday as producer, with Shindler, Davies and Julie Gardner as executive producers.[3](https://watch.plex.tv/es/show/tofu?context.unit=HC) Channel 4's own press release states that *Tofu* \"will be made by Benjamin Cook\" within the RED Production Company production.[2](https://www.channel4.com/press/news/russell-t-davies-explores-21st-century-gay-life-new-drama-c4)\n\nUnlike *Cucumber* and *Banana*, which reached US audiences on [Logo TV](https://www.edgepedia.org/logo-tv) from April 2015, *Tofu* was not slated to come to the United States; Davies described it there as 10-minute documentaries covering categories the dramas did not.[10](https://www.wbur.org/npr/396809966/from-banana-to-cucumber-new-series-spans-the-spectrum-of-sex) The series ran for one season and was not renewed.[3](https://watch.plex.tv/es/show/tofu?context.unit=HC) Streaming guides in the Philippines and elsewhere currently list it as unavailable on tracked services.[5](https://ottasia.com/title/tv/96513/tofu?country=PH) • [9](https://www.playpilot.com/global/show/tofu-pptiiXFD/season-1/)\n\nChannel 4's 2015 annual report grouped the trilogy together as a commissioning experiment, saying that *Banana*, *Cucumber* and *Tofu* \"bravely flagged up the issues of gender identity\" that soon became prominent in the national conversation and that transmitting across Channel 4, E4 and online tested a new way to commission programs across platforms.[11](https://assets-corporate.channel4.com/_flysystem/s3/2017-07/C4_Annual_Report_2015.pdf)\n\n## References\n\n1. [An introduction to Tofu from Benjamin Cook, Channel 4 Press (7 January 2015)](https://www.channel4.com/press/news/introduction-tofu-benjamin-cook)\n2. [Russell T Davies Explores 21st Century Gay Life in New Drama for C4, Channel 4 Press (19 November 2013)](https://www.channel4.com/press/news/russell-t-davies-explores-21st-century-gay-life-new-drama-c4)\n3. [Tofu (2015), Plex](https://watch.plex.tv/es/show/tofu?context.unit=HC)\n4. [Cucumbers and Canal Street: Russell T Davies talks to Northern Soul](https://www.northernsoul.me.uk/russell-t-davies/)\n5. [Where to watch Tofu (2015) in Philippines, OTTASIA](https://ottasia.com/title/tv/96513/tofu?country=PH)\n6. [Russell T Davies: 'Equality doesn't mean happiness', The Guardian (17 January 2015)](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/jan/17/russell-t-davies-cucumber-banana-tofu)\n7. [Cucumber Banana Tofu: A British Transmedia Recipe, Canada Media Fund (17 March 2015)](https://cmf-fmc.ca/now-next/articles/cucumber-banana-tofu-a-british-transmedia-recipe/)\n8. [Russell T Davies on new series Cucumber and Banana, Prolific North (9 January 2015)](https://www.prolificnorth.co.uk/news/russell-t-davies-new-series-cucumber-and-banana/)\n9. [Tofu – Season 1 (2015): Where to watch and stream online, PlayPilot](https://www.playpilot.com/global/show/tofu-pptiiXFD/season-1/)\n10. [From 'Banana' To 'Cucumber,' New Series Spans The Spectrum Of Sex, WBUR/NPR (1 April 2015)](https://www.wbur.org/npr/396809966/from-banana-to-cucumber-new-series-spans-the-spectrum-of-sex)\n11. [Channel 4 Annual Report 2015](https://assets-corporate.channel4.com/_flysystem/s3/2017-07/C4_Annual_Report_2015.pdf)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Unscripted, reality, and web-native series › Web-native and streaming-original series › Early English-language web series (1997–mid 2010s)*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/tofu-2015-tv-series", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/tofu-2015-tv-series.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Tofu (2015 TV series)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/tofu-2015-tv-series. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Tofu (2015 TV series)](https://www.edgepedia.org/tofu-2015-tv-series)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/tofu-2015-tv-series](https://www.edgepedia.org/tofu-2015-tv-series). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Tofu (2015 TV series)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/tofu-2015-tv-series. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Tofu is a British eight-part factual web series on 4oD, presented by Benjamin Cook and written by Russell T Davies, companion to Cucumber and Banana; real people and the dramas' casts discuss modern sex, titled after erection-hardness categories." }