BEFORE taking on his current touring theatre role, former Casualty star Richard Winsor had to learn to walk.

Not just any old one-foot-in-front-of-the-other walk, but the most difficult walk ever seen on the film screen.

This is a walk that symbolises swagger, the belief that anything is possible - the sidewalk walk of John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever.

Now, Richard is set to bring his walk, and indeed his dance moves to Glasgow when he plays the part of Tony Manero in Saturday Night Fever, the stage musical.

But how can an actor from Nottinghamshire develop a Brooklyn brio?

How can hope to convince a King’s theatre audience he is a disco deity?

It turns out Richard in fact trained at the Central School of Ballet and has starred in several Matthew Bourne productions.

And as for producing a little of the cockiness Travolta revealed 40 years ago?

The actor/dancer grins as he admits he has used his special powers several times in the past.

“I remember being at weddings whereby I did get a little circle around me,” he recalls. “This happened in the clubs a few times as well.

“And I have to admit it was lovely to get the attention.”

Richard, who also played the lead in 2010 movie Streetdance, where ballet met club dance, says it’s fantastic to be able to reveal a classical styles in a modern context.

“Yes, it’s great to surprise people.” Female people, Richard? Were you catnip to the ladies who surrounded the dance floor?

“I’m not sure about catnip,” he says, smiling.

What the role requires, he acknowledges, is an effortless charm.

Did he reach into his own character for the confidence?

“I’ve got an element of it,” he says, grinning. “I’m an actor. But for me it was about finding the rhythm and flow of the piece itself.

“Yet, I never imagined I’d be stepping into Travolta’s shoes. I love the challenge however and I’ve always had a huge respect for him.”

He adds; “John Travolta’s performance in the film Saturday Night Fever was what got me dancing as a kid. The disco scenes, his solo, his very masculine energy, it inspired me.”

Saturday Night Fever was a worldwide success story, the tale of the dark New Yorker who finds redemption in dance, where he meets a woman capable of coping with his arrogance.

The film was so dark it had to be edited before being given a 12 certificate in the UK.

“Tony, we learn, goes on this journey. And even though he has the charisma and charm, he’s not really a nice person to those around him.”

“He sort of gets away with it because he has these difficult parents, poor and religiously strict. And he works in a paint shop.

“He’s a really unhappy guy, until he gets to the disco. Then he meets with Stephanie whom we learn treats him in the way he treats other people.

Richard adds, smiling; “It’s a crowd-pleasing show. You have the grittiness of the drama, the fantastic dance and the music of the Bee Gees thrown in as well.”

The theatre musical uses the device of having three “Bee Gees” in the cast to perform the likes of Stayin’ Alive and How Deep Is Your Love.

“These guys perform the songs so well. It really feels like the soundtrack to the film is being played out as well.

“And the theatre floor lights up so it all it looks like an amazing dance floor. It’s really a dancing in the aisles show.”

Richard, who has also appeared in Hollyoaks, reveals how he came up with the very unique Brooklyn accent.

“I go to America a lot. I have a Green Card. But to transfer general American to Brooklyn was quite difficult. Your really have to play with your tongue a lot to get it right.

“But it’s a great sound, and I’ve loved getting into it.”

Is he one of those actors who when working on an accent takes it home with him?

“Oh, yes,” he gushes. “I went to Majorca in the summer with my girlfriend and her parents two weeks before rehearsals, so I took the script to learn my lines.

“All the time there I was talking in a Brooklyn accent. Thankfully, Jade was fantastic. She’s a dancer with Birmingham Royal Ballet so she understands what I need to do.”

His holiday as Tony paid off. “By the time I got to rehearsals I was in.”

But what of the relevance of Saturday Night Fever? Does the story still stand up today?

Very much so,” he maintains. “This is a story of a young guy struggling, working in a paint story. It’s so relevant today with so many people on zero hours contracts. With Trump threatening to build a wall to keep the Mexicans out and people with split families striving for a better life, it’s interesting to look at it and think “How far have we come?

“Forty years on, and similar families are talking about not being employed and trying to break free. It’s all still there.”

He adds; “And this period really heralds the beginning of a strong women’s movement, when misogyny and elements of racism are beginning to be tackled.”

Does having the Casualty profile help land roles such as this?

“Yes, I guess it does. And I’ve really enjoyed the move into acting.”

Richard made his stage acting debut in 2008 with his performance of the monster in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein at The Royal Playhouse Northampton, which earned fabulous reviews for his athletic and emotional portrayal.

“When I was dancing with Matthew Bourne I always wanted to act. In fact, Casualty wrote that role for me and when offered I just jumped on it.”

His TV character was killed off. But Richard is sanguine about the decision.

“It’s a great honour when they feel a character is big enough to deserve that sort of impact.

“I loved the show, for the experience and the great time. And it does help with the profile.”

Now, here he is acting out one of the coolest screen characters ever. And displaying his dancing skills to packed audiences.

“I really have the best of both,” he says in grateful voice.

Saturday Night Fever, the King’s Theatre, October 16-20