Fundraising for Comic Relief has hit a record-breaking £57 million, with more donations expected to flood in.

The £57,809,938 reached by the end of the show easily beat the record £40.5 million raised in 2007 and is the most money ever raised in the 21-year history of Red Nose Day.

Announcing the result, host Graham Norton pointed out that the amount was not even the final total.

"Masses of fundraising money isn't in yet. Last time we added £20 million to our end-of-night total," Norton said.

The show overcame an early hiccup, with host Davina McCall mouthing "sorry" to millions of BBC viewers after Angus Deayton swore live on air - two hours before the watershed.

In a gag over the former Have I Got News For You star reading out his bank details, Deayton inadvertently said: "B**r, yes."

A BBC spokeswoman said no offence was intended by Deayton's comments.

The show kicked off with Harry Hill's TV Burp, as Britain's best-known comedians "did something funny for money".

Gavin and Stacey's James Corden provided a highlight of the evening as he berated England's footballers for missing out on qualification for Euro 2008.

He jokingly criticised Frank Lampard for not passing to Steven Gerrard, told Peter Crouch to resurrect his robotic dance goal celebration and told Ashley Cole his wife, singer Cheryl, should not have been climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.

The night of comedy sketches and wacky fundraising stunts also included the last ever French and Saunders sketch.

Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders performed a parody of the smash hit Mamma Mia! The Movie.

Guest stars in the show-stopping musical skit included Sienna Miller, Joanna Lumley, Philip Glenister and Alan Carr.

Dragon's Den tycoons also pitched their wares to Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse before Comic Relief hosted a one-off Top of the Pops special.

Fearne Cotton and Reggie Yates were joined by a gang of comedians to present a live show including performances from Tom Jones and Oasis.

© Independent Television News Limited 2009. All rights reserved.