Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 2’s Alex Lester has been a night-time presenter on the network for over 20 years. Here, he shares the challenges and rewards of working the late shift.
Broadcasting after dark is a tough ask. Us night-time broadcasters serve the most demanding audience of the 24 hour cycle. Why? We're trying to entertain people who are waking up, people who are going to sleep, and those who can't sleep but want to. There are those people who are terribly tired but don't want to fall asleep. The lonely and the ill. Then there are people are at work and need to stay awake and be entertained, people who suddenly find themselves awake due to infants or imminent birth. The list goes on.
With an audience as varied as that you need to do something unique. So we do.
Night time is a surreal time. So the entire ethos of night-time broadcasting is, for me, predicated on a cartoon, Pinky and the Brain - two genetically engineered lab mice.
"Gee Brain. What are we going to do tonight"?
"The same thing we do every night Pinky - try to take over the world"!
The night mind works in a different way due to the intimacy of the time and its audience. People are listening and hanging on to every word. They are also aching to take part. Daytime radio the audience have you on in the background. Often you are wallpaper. Night time you are having a pub conversation with them. You are, as one person told me, "like a mate in the cab". The live audience is vital to night time broadcasts. It is "you and me against the world". It is an inclusive club. Everyone is welcome.
The night time person knows they march to the beat of a different drum. They realise they are often regarded as odd by the general population as they choose or are forced by circumstance to be awake during the small hours. However, there's one thing I've discovered over the last 27 years: the dark time is home to some of the finest and proudest people with razor sharp minds.
Nothing is off limits. Once on the show, we resurrected the 'knobbly knees' contest, inviting listeners to send in pictures of their knees (just knees nothing else). Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ editorial guidelines require us to not publish the pictures of those under 18, so, ever-resourceful, the night-time audience came up with an ingenious solution: SomeΒ started sending in pictures of just one knee, adding: "The knee on the left is 72, but the one on the right is only 2 due to a recent knee replacement operation!"
Like any radio show, we make use of social media. Recently we encouraged people to tell us how they'd like to be taxed and ruled if, given the chance, they could reinvent everything.Β We quickly established a 'dark parliament'. Listeners suggested taxation came in the form of charging people who talked in clichΓ©s. Imagine for a moment, being able to charge someone heavily if they said in a pub, "What's your poison?" A real money-spinner.
I've presented a night-time show on Radio 2 since 1987 - probably more night time hours than most others. But now we're embarking on the next chapter - I’m going to have a partner in crime – Janice Long will be taking it in turns to host with me. We'll be on air from the usual time and hoping to bring the same mix of music and conversation you've taken part in over the years. So, set your alarm and change your hours. We make it the best time of the day!
Alex Lester is a presenter for Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 2
- Alex presents which broadcasts on Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 2 every weekday
- Read the about the overnight schedule on Radio 2