Most of the celebs presenting awards last night confessed to a hidden love of folk music - including actor Sean Bean, singer KT Tunstall and Phil Collins.

The message was obvious: British folk is cool, and sandals and beards are irrelevant and forgotten, although, for the attentive, there was a passing reference when Steve Harley said he was wearing casual shoes and hadn't shaved.

Playing live was Seth Lakeman, one of last year's winners who, having sold 100,000 records, is virtually a mainstream artist. The event can be heard on Radio 2 tomorrow at 7pm.

The live music kicked off with Cold Haily Rainy Night in the novel version by The Imagined Village, featuring Martin and Eliza Carthy, plus sitar and thumping dhol drum from Shema Mukherjee and Johnny Kalsi.

They won Best Traditional Track and their 21st century take on English music, as conceived by producer Simon Emmerson, was one of the highlights of last year.

The instrumental trio Lau (Best Group) and the striking singer Julie Fowlis (Folk Singer of the Year) showed the current strength of the Scottish Gaelic scene.

Rachel Unthank and the Winterset (the newcomers Horizon Award) performed one of their dark, Northumbrian parlour-style songs, while Martin Simpson played from Prodigal Son (Album of the Year).

John Martyn was there to close things with gravitas and pick up a Lifetime Achievement Award.

The music and the company was warm and congenial and Simon Emmerson described "a vibrant inclusive community without the territory-pissing you get in the DJ and rock world".