Kylie Minogue, the actress and singer whose battle to overcome cancer inspired millions, declared herself deeply touched after being appointed OBE in a New Year’s Honours List that carries the stamp of Gordon Brown for the first time.

The Australian performer is joined by Michael Parkinson, the veteran TV chat show host, who is appointed KBE, and the actors Sir Ian McKellen, who becomes a Companion of Honour, Julie Walters and Leslie Phillips.

Stuart Rose, 58, the man credited with reviving Marks & Spencer, is knighted, leading a list of some of Britain’s most successful retailers.

And reflecting the wishes of the Prime Minister, who set the framework against which the honours committees should work last July, there is a significant majority of awards for people who serve the community in schools, hospitals and the voluntary sector. More than 60 per cent of the 972 honours are at MBE level.

But as has been the practice for several years, there are no peerages in today’s list, and Mr Brown has no plans for a working peers list.

Perhaps the most popular award will be that for Minogue. The former Australian soap star, now aged 39, arrived on the British pop scene as a teenager in the 1980s and has since sold more than 60 million records worldwide. In 2005 she had breast cancer diagnosed, but overcame her illness and was soon back on stage. She said last night: “I feel deeply touched to be acknowledged by the UK, my adopted home, in this way. This last year I have felt so much love and support from everyone as I took greater steps back into the public domain, and it is with absolute gratitude and joy that I . . . look forward to what the new year will bring.”

Michael Parkinson, 72, has just retired as probably the most successful and prolific chat show presenter.

A CBE goes to Julie Walters, 57, one of Britain’s most versatile actresses. There is also a CBE for the actor Leslie Phillips, 83, the quintessential Englishman and a veteran of three early Carry on films. Ian Anderson, the singer, guitarist and flautist with the veteran rock band Jethro Tull, is appointed MBE. An OBE goes to the black musician Trevor Romeo.

There are MBEs for people involved in rescue operations during the floods in June. They include Captain Tracey Palmer, of the Salvation Army in Worksop, who provided shelter for many children in the local church hall.

In the retail industry, CBEs go to Richard Bradbury, chief executive of the international fashion house River Island, and to Maurice Bennett, who has been involved in the fashion world for half a century. There is a KBE (knighthood) in the diplomatic list for David Tang, the prominent Hong Kong entrepreneur and founder of the Shanghai Tang chain.

In sport, the former England rugby union captain Jason Robinson is appointed OBE.

There is a CBE for the art historian Charles Saumarez Smith, former director of the National Gallery. Douglas Slocombe, 94, the cinematographer, whose many films date back to the classic Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949), is appointed OBE.

Elsewhere, there is a CBE for Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of Sane, the mental health charity.

Tony Blair has not yet fulfilled his right to name a resignation honours list and may not do so. But Tom Kelly, who was his official spokesman, is appointed CB. The same award goes to Debby Reynolds, the Government’s former chief vet, who led efforts to deal with this year’s outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease and avian flu.

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