In 1986 he returned to the BBC, presenting the breakfast show (indeed, the first show) on the newly opened BBC Essex based in Chelmsford. !Approx Weekly Vlog. 00.00 Alex Lester 3.00 Phil Gayle 5.30 A repeat of a documentary, comedy panel, short series, comedy sitcom, drama or a repeat of a show like the Craig Charles House Party for example. Alex Lester, 57 BBC Radio 2 DJ. The Sun website is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. It's worth making it past the interview!! He said: “It’s galling. VETERAN BBC broadcaster Alex Lester has slammed Radio 2’s regular hiring of television stars to present its shows. To see all content on The Sun, please use the Site Map. In April 1992 he was given the early-morning show permanently. It replaced Light Programme. Alex shared the After Midnight slot with Janice Long, with Long presenting Monday - Thursday and Lester Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Edit the text or tell us more about the programme. The show was cancelled in January 2017 due to Radio 2 cutting costs.[5][6]. 679215 Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF. Debbie Mac. It just turns your day on its head, that's all. Go to the individual listing page by clicking on the title. Alexander Norman Charles Lester (born 11 May 1956) is a British broadcaster. 06:00. A team photo from Radio Tees days. Lester joined Radio 2 in 1987 as an announcer and newsreader. Meghan and Harry complain to Ofcom about Piers Morgan not believing them, Sarah Everard cops confirm remains found in Kent woods are missing 33-year-old, Sarah cops had reg of flasher's car thought to be suspect's but 'didn't act', Entire school year sent home to isolate after Covid outbreak in first week, Piers Morgan says he lost GMB job for 'disbelieving Meghan' in furious rant, ©News Group Newspapers Limited in England No. Comments here do not represent the views of the BBC. Lester went on to present, amongst others, the weekday lunchtime show and a specialist blues music programme there.[3]. Alex Lester 26 Nov 2013 02:00 on BBC Radio 2 Mark Goodier sits in for Alex, with another slice of inspired daftness and great music. Appears in. The new phrase for the 2010–2011 Truck Writing Season was WALLOP (We're Alex Lester's Lovely Overnight People), and in 2013 the slogan ALAN was introduced (Alex Lester at Night).[4]. Alex Lester has moved! At that point, Kennedy's hours changed - she was advised by controller Bob … Press the green Edit button. Mark has your Top 10 at 10, My Greatest Hit and Lunchtime Anthems. “I’m fortunate to have lasted 30 years because I never got famous.”. For nearly 10 years he lived aboard a 60-foot traditional stern canal boat (which he nicknamed The Blue Pig) during the week, while presenting his show from the BBC's Pebble Mill Studios and then The Mailbox in Birmingham. [8], From 10 February 2020, Alex started presenting the weekday overnight show on Greatest Hits Radio networks across England and Scotland from 1 am until 6 am, and from September 2020, his shows were (initially the last hour only) also heard on Greatest Hits South Wales. This page is updated by Alex and members of his production team. Broadcaster Alex Lester was axed from the station after 30 years, losing his show After Midnight to repeats. Listen Again . Page 274 BBC Radio 2 is a radio service which began broadcasting on 30 September 1967. @alexthedarklord on Twitter. Among the famous telly stars to have been handed shows on Radio 2 are X Factor presenter Demot O’Leary and Strictly host Claudia Winkleman. The A-Z of Alex Lester To celebrate Alex's 26th year on Radio 2 here's a handy guide to his nocturnal world. [1] He presented the weekday overnight/early-morning programme on BBC Radio 2 from 1992 until 2014. A former Birmingham Poly student, Alex Lester was born and raised in Walsall. Issue 4469 29 December 2009. Now 60, he joined Radio Birmingham in 1977 before it changed its name to Radio WM and then BBC WM, moving to Radio … Alex is a stepfather to Kerry's two adult children, Jamie and Ella, from a previous relationship. Lester has homes in Hastings and Wednesbury. He also has a restored cottage as a third home in the Normandy region of France. OK, we will think about talking to you about maybe putting you on the station’. 16:00. Email to friends Share on Facebook - opens in a new window or tab Share on Twitter - opens in a new window or tab Share on Pinterest - … He also temporarily replaced Russell Brand on Saturday evenings in late 2008, between 9 and 11 pm, following Brand's resignation over his infamous prank calls row. These included Radio Tees, based in Stockton-on-Tees, where he worked from 1983 until 1986. "The Sun", "Sun", "Sun Online" are registered trademarks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited. DJ: Alex Lester. Popular presenters Paul Fairclough and Stu Haycock have been axed by Signal 2 - and will be replaced by ex-Radio 1 DJ Mark Goodier and Edd the … For other inquiries, Contact Us. Alex has recently being covering shows for BBC Essex it will be interesting to see whether they still use him as cover and whether the show with handpicked music and requests resurfaces on BBC Essex. He joined Radio Aire in Leeds in 1981. There was a limited edition range of T-shirts with the slogan written in Cantonese developed by a listener, which Lester awarded to people who came up with the most innovative uses of the slogan – winners included a local radio reporter who got the expression into a story; a man who wrote and recorded a song with the slogan as its title; a mystery girl, for placing an ad for Lester's show in the small ads section of a local newspaper and a man who developed a website which remains a communal meeting point for the programme's listeners, and is listed in the External Links section below. These were halcyon days for the DJ who on moving to London in 1984 lived at legendary rock ‘n’ roll hotel The Columbia. @alexthedarklord on Twitter. On 4 January 2019 he left the breakfast show on BBC WM after nearly 2 years. With the introduction of After Midnight on Radio 2 in October 2014, the show was broadcast from 12 am to 3 am from Fridays to Sundays. DJ Chris Evans took over the breakfast show from Terry Wogan in January. Make it better. DJ: Alex Lester. For further details of our complaints policy and to make a complaint please click this link: thesun.co.uk/editorial-complaints/, Comments are subject to our community guidelines, which can be viewed, Veteran broadcaster Alex Lester spent 30 years at BBC Radio 2, Some of the famous faces that moonlight on BBC Radio 2, Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). Obscure sports are another passion. This service is provided on News Group Newspapers' Limited's Standard Terms and Conditions in accordance with our Privacy & Cookie Policy. A doctor's son, Lester was educated at Denstone College, and worked in a variety of jobs (including at Dudley Zoo, in a pub, and as a civil service clerk), before he began his broadcasting career in 1977 for BBC local radio stations. Over the years Lester has participated in Extreme Downhill Cheese Rolling and the Yorkshire Celery Wrestling Finals and achieved a creditable 9th-place finish at the 2006 World Bog Snorkelling Championship. But Alex and Janice have found other work, mainly in local radio, so they are not returning to the graveyard shift anytime soon. 163 talking about this. Make it better. For 16 years, starting in January 1994, the programme began at 3 am and finished at 6 am, until it was rescheduled in 2010 after changes to the Radio 2 morning schedule. Alexander Norman Charles Lester (born 11 May 1956) is a British broadcaster. Alex had hosted a weekly show on BBC Radio Oxford from 2015 till 2017, broadcasting between 1 pm and 4 pm on Fridays. Alex Lester is here with The Best Time Of The Day Show, weekday mornings from 1am. [2], Later, he worked for other radio stations in the commercial sector. [7] @alexthedarklord on Twitter. BBC Radio 2 Window sticker. This page is updated by Alex and members of his production team. The programme was broadcast from 4 am until 6:30 am until December 1992, and from 3 am to 5 am during 1993. From October 2014 until January 2017, he presented the midnight to 3 am programme every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. In the Queen's Birthday Honours 2005 Kennedy was appointed as a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for services to broadcasting. 13:00. Enjoy!BBC's Alex Lester & Harry Potter's birthday. From October 2014 until January 2017, he presented the midnight to 3 am programme every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The meaningless but catchy show slogans are SCOF (Swirling Cesspool of Filth) and Slap My Top (thought to be a variation on the music hall soundbite slap my thigh – but reserved exclusively for people with bald heads) and listeners have marketed the show by writing the phrase in the dirt on the backs of trucks and vans. Go to the individual listing page by clicking on the title. He also temporarily replaced Russell Brand on Saturday evenings in late 2008, between 9 and 11 pm, following Brand's resignation over his infamous prank calls row. There was outrage when the BBC cut live overnight shows on Radio 2 last year – Alex Lester and Janice Long were the nighttime equivalents of Ken Bruce and Steve Wright – but now a new overnight show is back. I've been doing night shifts for 26 years and I'm still alive, so hopefully it's all right. Edit the text or tell us more about the programme. With Musical Map, Record and Album of the Week and Pause for Thought. Issue 4469 28 December 2009. This comes just a couple of weeks after Lester took up a position with Greatest Hits Radio presenting weekday overnights on the station. In January Radio 2 axed all original programming from its overnight schedules on weekdays and replaced it with reruns and “playlists” in a cost-cutting measure. It was then broadcast from 2 am to 5 am every weekday. Using repeats in place of real human DJ’s after midnight on Radio 2 is shortsighted. Music and chat after midnight with Janice Long on Mondays to Thursdays and Alex Lester on Fridays to Sundays. Lester could also be heard, from April 2017 to June 2017 on Thames Radio's overnight shift. It is believed that the voice parts were 'Tracked' (recorded in advance and inserted between the records in real time). Debbie plays the biggest songs of the 70s, 80s and 90s. [10] From 8 June 2020, he permanently moved to the late night show 10 pm-1 am. John Foster, who hosted the Tfm breakfast show and is now a BBC Tees presenter, said: “As a kid growing up in Middlesbrough, I … Night workers, insomniacs, students, lorry drivers, music lovers & the lonely NEED that human touch. Mark Goodier. Improve this site. He first arrived at the then BBC … “It’s a different beast and you can’t say it’s not successful because it is.". He'll share his tales with you, so feel free to share yours back! It replaced Light Programme. As well as T-Shirts another listener produced a range of glow in the dark Alex Lester wristbands which were also given away as prizes on the show. Listen Again. He presented the weekday overnight/early-morning programme on BBC Radio 2 from 1992 until 2014. Alex Lester has said an emotional goodbye to his listeners on the breakfast show at BBC WM 95.6 this morning. 313 talking about this. Alex, 60, was axed from the station in January after 30 years, losing his show After Midnight to repeats and playlists. Alex Lester. Blasting their decision, he said: “Colleagues of mine go, ‘Why don’t they have proper presenters on Radio 2?’ Because it’s Radio 2, that’s why. Alex Lester’s The Best Time Of The Day, on Radio 2, is being moved from its regular week-night slot to weekends and his legions of fans are up in arms. Both Janice Long & Alex Lester provide a beautiful service to the people of our country that can’t be measured in finances. BBC WM presenter Alex Lester choked up as he quit the breakfast show live on air today after two years in the hot seat. At Radio Tees, on joining, he narrowly avoided an attempt by Canadian programme controller Donald Cline to rechristen him "Red" Lester. [9] He also presents the Weekend Anthems show on a Saturday afternoon from 4pm. He also presented the night-time show on a rota basis. It will be interesting to see if other parts of the BBC have the same thoughts as management in the West Midlands in thinking Alex Lester works for a commercial rival he cannot work for us. Welcome to Beatport. Greatest Hits at Breakfast. TV chat show stars Paul O’Grady and Graham Norton also have regular slots on the station. Reinstate Janice Long & Alex Lester to overnight Radio 2 programmes! News Corp is a network of leading companies in the worlds of diversified media, news, education, and information services. View our online Press Pack. BBC Radio 2 keyring. Radio 2 said its presenters are “some of the best-loved personalities from a wide range of broadcasting, music and performing backgrounds”. Press the green Edit button. 4.00: Alex Lester Contributors. Radio Chat Vlog Mashup! They bring in people who I don’t think are very good, but are on TV.”. Sarah Mary Kennedy MBE (born 8 July 1950) is a retired British TV and radio broadcaster.She presented her daily early morning radio show, The Dawn Patrol, on BBC Radio 2 from 1993 to 2010. 4.00: Alex Lester Contributors. Lester kept UK truckers and other night-shift workers awake with his weird and strange observations. They married on 3 December 2011. Listen to and download DJ 5L45H music on Beatport. Improve this site. Between February and June 2017 he also hosted a four-hour Sunday evening show on BBC Radio Kent but had to relinquish this due to other commitments, primarily resulting from becoming the new host of the breakfast show on BBC WM from Monday 20 March 2017. Alex Lester; Janice Long; Adrian Love; Des Lynam; Humphrey Lyttelton; M. Don Maclean; Stuart Maconie; Ana Matronic; Brian Matthew; Cerys Matthews; Maxi (singer) Simon Mayo; Scott Mills; Pete Mitchell (broadcaster) Jason Mohammad; Ray Moore (broadcaster) Huey Morgan; Sheridan Morley; James Morrison (jazz musician) Pete Murray (DJ) N. Trevor Nelson; Nemone; Mavis Nicholson; Annie …