Radio Show That Pranked the Royal Hospital Is Canceled After Nurse's Suicide
The two Australian DJs who prank called the hospital where Kate Middleton was staying last week, appeared visibly shaken in their first public interview since learning that one of the nurses they fooled committed suicide. Both Mel Greig and Michael Christian spoke to an Australian news program about the incident, saying they were "gutted" and "heartbroken" by news of Jacintha Saldanha's death. Saldanha was the one who answered the phone and when the DJs called the hospital pretending to be Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles and then put them through to the Duchess's ward.
RELATED: The Royal Baby Will Not Be Named Diana
The station they worked for, 2DayFM, also announced today that their show would be canceled, the two hosts would not return to the air, and that all prank calls would be banned from now on. They hosts said they believed the prank would be harmless and that they would hung up on with in 30 seconds. Even though another nurse gave them information about Kate's condition over the air, they pair they weren't actually trying to get any actual news, but expected the joke to be on them when they would inevitably get hung up on.
RELATED: French Magazine Upsets British Royals with Topless Photos of Kate Middleton
Because the two women involved were never told that were being recorded, it's possible that the station may broken laws, either in Australia or the UK. The station said that several attempts were made, unsuccessfully, to contact the nurses to get permission to broadcast the segment. It's unknown if any charges will be brought, but police expect to hold an inquest into the nurse's death.
