Editing Alex Lester (section)

=='The Best Time of the Day' and beyond==
Lester kept UK truckers and other night-shift workers awake with his weird and strange observations. 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]] phrase '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. A limited-edition range of T-shirts, with the slogan written in [[Cantonese]], was developed by a listener. Lester awarded these 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. As well as T-shirts, another listener produced a range of glow-in-the-dark Alex Lester wristbands, which were given away as prizes on the show. 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).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://alexlesterspersonalblog.blogspot.co.uk/|title=The Best Time of the Day Blog|publisher=Alexlesterspersonalblog.blogspot.co.uk|access-date=4 July 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517114047/http://alexlesterspersonalblog.blogspot.co.uk/|archive-date=17 May 2014}}</ref>

Despite being broadcast in an overnight timeslot, Lester prided himself on calling his programme 'The Best Time of the Day'. As one of the longest-serving broadcasters on the network, he was occasionally heard on Radio 2 during the daytime when regular presenters were away.

The programme was broadcast from 4{{nbsp}}am until 6:30{{nbsp}}am until December 1992, and from 3{{nbsp}}am to 5{{nbsp}}am during 1993. For 16 years, starting in January 1994, the programme began at 3{{nbsp}}am and finished at 6{{nbsp}}am, until it was rescheduled in 2010 after changes to the Radio 2 morning schedule. It was then broadcast from 2{{nbsp}}am to 5{{nbsp}}am every weekday. With the introduction of After Midnight on Radio 2 in October 2014, the show was broadcast from 12{{nbsp}}am to 3{{nbsp}}am from Fridays to Sundays. Alex shared the After Midnight slot with [[Janice Long]], with Long presenting Monday - Thursday, and Lester on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The show was cancelled in January 2017 due to Radio 2 cutting costs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://radiotoday.co.uk/2017/01/bbc-radio-2-cuts-live-overnight-presenters/|title=BBC Radio 2 cuts live overnight presenters|date=9 January 2017|publisher=radiotoday.co.uk|access-date=9 January 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170110083430/http://radiotoday.co.uk/2017/01/bbc-radio-2-cuts-live-overnight-presenters/|archive-date=10 January 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://radiotoday.co.uk/2017/01/alex-lester-i-hope-youll-find-me-somewhere/|title=Alex Lester: I hope you'll find me somewhere|date=30 January 2017|publisher=radiotoday.co.uk|access-date=30 January 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170130084159/http://radiotoday.co.uk/2017/01/alex-lester-i-hope-youll-find-me-somewhere/|archive-date=30 January 2017}}</ref>

Alex had hosted a weekly show on [[BBC Radio Oxford]] from 2015 till 2017, broadcasting between 1{{nbsp}}pm and 4{{nbsp}}pm on Fridays.

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 Radio WM]] from Monday 20 March 2017.

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).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://thamesradio.london/schedule/ |title=Schedule &#124; Thames Radio |access-date=3 April 2017 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170404045201/http://thamesradio.london/schedule/ |archive-date=4 April 2017}}</ref> He also hosted the late night show on BBC across the West Midlands local radio stations until February 2020, from 10{{nbsp}}pm on Saturday night until 1{{nbsp}}am on Sunday.

On 4 January 2019, Lester left the breakfast show on BBC Radio WM after nearly two years of broadcasting.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://radiotoday.co.uk/2019/01/https://radiotoday.co.uk/2019/01/alex-lester-says-goodbye-to-bbc-wm-breakfast/|title=Alex Lester says goodbye to BBC WM Breakfast|date=4 January 2019|publisher=radiotoday.co.uk|access-date=4 January 2019|url-status=live|archive-url=https://radiotoday.co.uk/2019/01/alex-lester-says-goodbye-to-bbc-wm-breakfast/|archive-date=4 January 2019}}</ref>

From 10 February 2020, he began presenting the weekday overnight show on [[Greatest Hits Radio]] networks across England and Scotland from 1{{nbsp}}am until 6{{nbsp}}am, and from September 2020, his shows were (initially the last hour only) also heard on Greatest Hits South Wales.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://radiotoday.co.uk/2020/02/alex-lester-joins-greatest-hits-radio-for-overnights/ |title = Alex Lester joins Greatest Hits Radio for overnights – RadioToday|date = 10 February 2020}}</ref> He also presented the Weekend Anthems show on a Saturday afternoon from 4pm until February 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://planetradio.co.uk/greatest-hits/shows/Weekend-Anthems/ |title=Weekend Anthems - Latest Episodes - Listen Now on Greatest Hits Radio |access-date=7 March 2020 |archive-date=4 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104002842/https://planetradio.co.uk/greatest-hits/shows/weekend-anthems/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> From 8 June 2020, he permanently moved to the late night show 10{{nbsp}}pm-1{{nbsp}}am.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://radiotoday.co.uk/2020/06/alex-lester-keeps-late-show-on-greatest-hits-radio/ |title = Alex Lester keeps Late Show on Greatest Hits Radio – RadioToday|date = 8 June 2020}}</ref> From 3 January 2021, Alex moved back to 1{{nbsp}}am-6{{nbsp}}am, and from 8 January 2022 Alex temporarily replaced the late Janice Long on Saturday afternoons 1{{nbsp}}pm-4{{nbsp}}pm <ref>{{cite web |url=https://radiotoday.co.uk/2020/12/schedule-changes-coming-to-greatest-hits-radio/ |title = Schedule changes coming to Greatest Hits Radio – RadioToday|date = 3 December 2020}}</ref>