Mel Craig and Michael Christian, the two Australian DJs involved in the hoax call to Kate Middleton’s hospital, may never return to radio, Celebuzz is reporting. The two radio personalities are reportedly devastated that the prank call may have resulted in nurse Jacintha Saldanha committing suicide. Craig and Christian, who work for 2Day FM, are currently on full paid leave following the unexpected suicide.
Bosses at 2Day FM are standing by Craig and Christian, because they believe there was no ill-intent involved in the prank, and no one expected the tragedy to unravel the way it did. The two DJs “are totally devastated about what has happened. It was their idea to come off the air and they meant absolutely no malice with the prank.”
On Wednesday morning, Saldanha answered the phone call at 5:30am and transferred it to Middleton’s ward. Another nurse told the laughing DJs, who were pretending to be the Queen and Prince Charles, that the expectant mother and Duchess was about to “get freshened up.”
Saldanha, a mother of two, was later found dead at an address close to King Edward VII’s Hospital on Friday morning, in what Scotland Yard is treating as a suicide. Not all of the circumstances surrounding her death have been publicly revealed yet, however. But Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) and 2Day FM released a statement on Friday, offering condolences to Saldanha’s family.
Craig and Christian still have their jobs, but their future in radio is still uncertain. They haven’t been fired by the station, and before the prank the two were very popular.
After Saldanha’s death, a spokesperson for the Palace revealed in a statement that Prince William and Middleton, who was admitted to the hospital to treat acute morning sickness, were deeply saddened. “Their Royal Highnesses were looked after so wonderfully well at all times by everybody at King Edward VII Hospital, and their thoughts and prayers are with Jacintha Saldanha’s family, friends and colleagues at this very sad time,” the statement said.
King Edward VII hospital called Saldanha a “a first class nurse who cared diligently for hundreds of patients.” Scotland Yard are still investigating her death.
Written by: Karen Benardello
