HALF term may be next week but thoughts will be turning to Summer Holiday at the Grand Opera House, York.

Adapted for the stage by Michael Gyngell and Mark Haddigan from the 1963 film that starred Cliff Richard and The Shadows, the musical is on the road from this month, with the famous red double-decker bus making its next stop in York from Tuesday.

On board will be Liverpudlian singer, songwriter, Brookside soap star and Dancing On Ice champion Ray Quinn, filling Sir Cliff's shoes in the leading role of Don, who journeys with fellow London Transport mechanics on a double-decker bus through Paris, the Alps, Italy and Greece, picking up a girl singing group and a young American pop star on the run from her domineering mother en route.

For this tour, all those Cliff hits from the film with be joined by more favourites from the Cliff back catalogue: In The Country, Summer Holiday, Travellin’ Light, Bachelor Boy, Move It, Living Doll, The Young Ones and On the Beach all will be coming along for the ride.

Ray Quinn was delighted to have the chance to play Don. "David King, the executive producer, called me. He's a great friend who I've worked with four times, and he told me he'd got this show, couldn't say what it was until the contract was signed, but would I be interested as there was a great role for me?" he recalls.

"Later on, he was able to tell me it was the 'Cliff' role in Summer Holiday, and for me, they're great songs which really hit home with me. Summer Holiday was my nan's favourite film – she adored it – and I knew I had to do it as she always wanted me to do two roles: the Gene Kelly part in Singin' In The Rain and Cliff's Don in Summer Holiday."

Ray has revelled in the audience reactions to the show so far. "We're very lucky because the audiences have been superb; we've had fantastic support; standing ovations every night. There are 18 of us on stage, and with so many people admiring Cliff, we're pretty much guaranteed a great response – and because we have Cliff songs that weren't in the film, as well as ones that were, they're on our side from the start," he says.

"It's good old-fashioned entertainment, especially in the world we live in today, with two hours of escapism into the Sixties being so welcome, going back to when things were a bit easier: pure sunshine and laughter and good music."

Ray has been dancing since the age of three, made his pantomime debut at the Neptune [now the Epstein Theatre] in Liverpool when six or seven and joined Channel 4's cast for Brookside at the age of eight. "All I've trained for, I'm doing in this show: I'm tumbling, I'm dancing, I'm acting, I'm singing," he says. "It's a beautiful showcase for me, so it's a blessing and a true honour."

Don will for ever be associated with Cliff Richard , and with that in mind, Ray made an important decision. "I've tried not to watch too much of the film, but instead I wanted to find my own Don; sitting down with the cast, finding where they're at, and then creating my own Don, and it's only going to grow as the tour continues," he says. "The creative team have allowed me to spread my wings in what I do, how I come across on stage, and that's been a fantastic opportunity."

Ray loves the "good old sense of romance" in Summer Holiday. "It's about opening yourself to one person, which is a really beautiful love story," he says, before turning his thoughts to what he brings to the show.

"I put my all into playing Don because I'm passionate about my job. I love being the lead, which is a beautiful but challenging responsibility that I've opened my arms to. I was ready for this show now [he is 29], whereas I might not have been able to do it ten years ago. But I couldn't do it without the people around me; the cast are amazing. I'm surrounded by talented people, so I have to step up my game and I really enjoy that responsibility."

Summer Holiday goes for a ride at the Grand Opera House, York, from Tuesday to Saturday, 7.30pm and Wednesday and Saturday matinees at 2.30pm; Leeds Grand Theatre, July 30 to August 4, 7.30pm and Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday matinees at 2.30pm. Box office: York, 0844 871 3024 or at atgtickets.com/york; Leeds, 0844 848 2700 or leedsgrandtheatre.com.