It was ‘Strictly’ a day Southampton will never forget when the Queen named the world’s newest cruise ship in the city yesterday.

Bottles of bubbly fizzed, a blizzard of multi-coloured confetti filled the air, the sun shone and the stars of favourite television programme Strictly Come Dancing tripped the light fantastic during an exclusive royal command performance for the christening of P&O Cruises’ Britannia.

Making sure that the dancers were putting their best foot forward was Strictly judge and former prima ballerina Darcy Bussell together with show presenter Tess Daly.

At one point top dancers Natalie Lowe and Ian Waite emerged from the audience and ripped off their dress and suit to dramatically reveal glamorous dancing clothes to lead a large group of young dancers through an energetic routine on the dockside.

The Queen, wearing a peach coloured dress, coat and hat, together with the Duke of Edinburgh, was seen tapping her feet when the massed bands of the Irish Guards and the Royal Marines marched on to the quayside in front of hundreds of specially invited guests.

After being greeted by Captain Paul Brown, master of the giant, 141,000-ton Britannia, the Queen was invited to officially name the ship by saying the famous words: “I name this ship Britannia...” and then sending a giant bottle of British sparkling wine, equivalent to 20 normal-sized ones, crashing against the ship’s enormous hull.

The bottle smashed to smithereens, spraying wine across the vessel’s name, as spectators, including many showbusiness celebrities and sporting personalities, together with five famous television chefs and wine experts, roared their approval and Captain Brown called for “three cheers” for the Queen.

Daily Echo:

When the bottle smashed against the side of Britannia, P&O Cruises continued its theme of all things British by using sparkling wine from the Wiston Estate Winery in West Sussex.

After the ceremony the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh were escorted on board Britannia, where the royal couple met officers and members of the crew as they were given a brief conducted tour of the ship, the biggest vessel ever built solely for British passengers.

One of the most unexpected hits of the ceremony, hosted by comedian and actor Rob Brydon, was a rousing performance by the bagpipers and musicians of the Red Hot Chilli Pipers, who brought spectators to their feet with their version of Queen’s We Will Rock You.

Britannia is the second ship in the current Southampton-based fleet of P&O Cruises vessels to be named by the Queen, as back in April 1995 she officially christened Oriana, which many believe heralded the development of Britain’s modern cruise industry, which has its centre in the port.

David Dingle, chairman of P&O Cruises, told the audience that the naming of Britannia was one of the company’s proudest moments in its 178-year history.

He said: “Today’s Britain has emerged as a place of style and sophistication, optimism and excitement and Britannia has been envisaged to capture that spirit.

“We embarked on this journey four years ago and with my team it has been a proud honour to see Britan-|nia through from concept to |reality.

“We have created a truly incredible ship, which could only have been borne out of insight, passion and the remarkable cruising heritage of P&O Cruises.”

Built in Italy and registered in Southampton, Britannia, which will make her home port in the city, is due to leave on her maiden voyage to the Mediterranean this Saturday.