Not many things will silence a room hundreds-deep with half-drunk fundraisers, but Lindsay Boswell taking to the podium and announcing "we made a mistake tonight" is one of them, says Celina Ribeiro.

The Institute of Fundraising chief executive took to the stage of the Institute's Fundraising Awards on Monday night just as the jolly host was preparing to wrap up the evening, and well after most tables had ordered their second round of wine.

To oohs and ahhs and wine-fuelled aghast, Boswell (pictured) revealed that the award for payroll giving had been mistakenly given to Islington Council, and not Asos - who had sat on their back-row table and clapped as their tablemates from Islington bounced up to receive the award.

Louise McCabe, head of corporate social responsibility at Asos, described the gaffe as a "tears and laughter moment" after the triumphant Islington Council returned to their table to find that the award was inscribed with the online retailer's name rather than their own.

"We're just pleased it was sorted out in the end," she said.

Meanwhile, the affable BBC commentator won over the women in the audience during the evening when he commented that the first winners, a trio of young women from the Royal British Legion, were "fit" and likely the best looking winners of the evening, before later on remarking that he had been unable to sleep over the weekend because "I couldn't get Serena [Williams'] dress out of my mind".

But gaffes and 1970s-style commentary aside, the fundraising fraternity rocked on into the early hours to the tunes of music that wedding DJs know too well keeps the punters dancing - even in spite of themselves.