CELEBRITIES of stage, screen and fashion were on hand to witness the official unveiling of the Queen Mary 2’s new £90m new look in Southampton yesterday.

A glittering event staged in the liner’s home port was attended by invited guests who were given an exclusive look at the world’s only ocean liner’s improvements.

In attendance were fashion legend Zandra Rhodes, celebrity Christopher Biggins and also one of the UK and Hollywood’s top actors Luke Evans star of The Hobbit films and Dracula Untold.

The make-over has included enough new carpet to cover the Wembley Stadium pitch 10 times as well as a host of new artwork and furnishings.

Every stateroom on board the liner has been refurbished and 50 new cabins have been added to the vessel including brand new singles cabins. And coffee and tea making facilities have been provided for every room.

The central lifts have been removed – in part to reduce the weight to allow for more cabins – and the exclusive Queen’s Grill and Princess’s Grill have been totally refurbished in elegant style.

One of the most dramatic alterations has been to the King’s Court buffet where a once slightly confusing and cramped space has been opened out to create a bright, welcoming area for all-day dining.

The former Winter Garden has been successfully transformed into the now sensational Carinthia Lounge.

A novel addition to the area for dogs and cats is a lamppost from Liverpool, the original home for Cunard, and a fire hydrant from New York.

The whole transformation took just 27-days in a ship yard in Hamburg.

When she was named in 2004 QM2 was the first ocean liner to enter service in 35 years. Since leaving Southampton on her maiden voyage, she has sailed 1.78m nautical miles – the equivalent of journeying to the moon and back four times. QM2 has crossed the Atlantic 256 times, made 476 voyages and called at 215 different ports in 80 countries.

Southampton is the QM2’s most visited port, New York her second and Hamburg her third.

At the Remastering ceremony, Cunard’s CEO for the UK David Noyes praised both the workforce who had created the changes in such a short period of time, and also the ship’s dedicated crew.

A commemorative painting capturing the QE2 undergoing work in Hamburg was presented to the liner’s Captain.