As Jake skates out, Peter flies in for Neverland trip

And for Peter Bergin, fresh from drama school in his first professional job, stepping into the title role of the show this week is an awfully big adventure too.

Since Peter Pan: A Musical Adventure opened, reality TV favourite Jake Quickenden has been playing Peter Pan, making his acting debut in the role.

But he’s now left the company to compete in Dancing On Ice, which returns to ITV on Sunday evening.

Following Jake’s steps as closely as a shadow - or perhaps better than Pan’s shadow which is known to become detached during his adventures in Neverland - has been Peter, ready to step up for the final shows which run until Sunday at the Winter Gardens theatre.

“It’s worked really well for me,” Peter said. “I’ve had two weeks on stage in the ensemble with the cast, before getting into taking over the lead.

“It’s been a great opportunity to have time to prepare myself throughout the rehearsals - and the production company Selladoor have been fantastic and have made it really easy for me.”

The festive show has been specially written and created for the Opera House in partnership with Selladoor, starring Jennifer Ellison as a female Captain Hook, Radio Wave breakfast show presenter Scott Gallagher as Smee and stage star Maureen Nolan as Mrs Darling.

It features classic and contemporary pop hits and retells the children’s literary classic, in a new version. Puppetry and shadow play are used to create many of JM Barrie’s classic magical moments from the original novel.