Kate Middleton Prank Call Fallout: Australian DJs' Radio Show Canceled In Wake of Nurse's Suicide

Radio hosts who duped workers at Kate Middleton's hospital that prompted one of them to take her own life saw their show canceled

By Josh Grossberg Jan 28, 2013 4:32 PMTags
Kate Middleton, DJ Michael Christian, Mel GreigArthur Edwards/WPA Pool/Getty Images; 2Day FM

Michael Christian and Mel Greig are officially out of a gig—at least for now.

The Australian DJs' radio show, Hot 30, has been canceled after the two came under fire last month for a prank call they made to a London hospital to get dirt on a pregnant Kate Middleton, an act which prompted a nurse who  unwittingly passed the call along to commit suicide.

Per the BBC, Southern Cross Austereo, owner of Sydney-based 2Day FM, quietly announced the decision to axe the Hot 30 Countdown on Saturday. The broadcaster, however, noted that Christian and Greig remained employed with the company and would host a new program sometime soon.

A different DJ has been tapped to fill the duo's prior time slot.

"We look forward to Mel and MC returning to work when the time is right, in roles that make full use of their talents," said Southern Cross Austereo's CEO Rhys Holleran. "We will discuss future roles with them when they are ready."

The news comes six weeks after Jacintha Saldana, a 46-year-old nurse at King Edward VII Hospital, hanged herself in her apartment after she inadvertently passed along a call by the radio personalities who were impersonating Queen Elizabeth II.

The pranksters ended up making headlines for duping staff into releasing private details about the Duchess of Cambridge's condition after she was admitted for treatment for an acute form of morning sickness.

After posting an audio recording of the hoax, Christian and Greig later apologized for their actions and took down the conversation. But alas, two days later Saldana took her own life, prompting 2DayFM to immediately yank their show off the air indefinitely and say it would ban such stunts in the future.

The pair, who were placed on a leave of absence, subsequently issued a statement saying they were "shattered, gutted…[and] heartbroken."