The actress was nominated following a survey carried out by cruise specialist cruise.co.uk which asked 1,000 respondents for the household name they would most like to act as godmother for a cruise ship christening.
 
The Happy Valley star, who also appeared in TV shows Last Tango in Halifax and Coronation Street, came out on top with 29% of the votes.
 
The public nominated actress Olivia Coleman next, with 18% of the vote, while singer Adele took 12%. Other celebrities to make the shortlist included Alison Hammond, Kate Bush and Prue Leith.
 
Tony Andrews, deputy managing director of cruise.co.uk, said: "Following Nicole Scherzinger’s recent appearance as godmother of P&O Cruises’ newest ship, Arvia, we thought it would be fun to understand which British celebrity the public would like to see at the next big naming.
 
"We know that having a well-known and respected godmother can add a special touch to a ship’s launch and we agree that Sarah Lancashire would be a great fit for this honour."