Radio duo 'heartbroken' over nurse's death

11 Dec 2012, 6:45 am   -   Source: AAP
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A tearful Sydney radio duo say they're heartbroken, gutted and shattered after their royal prank call was linked to the death of a British nurse.

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A tearful Sydney radio duo say they're heartbroken, gutted and shattered after their royal prank call was linked to the death of a British nurse.

Sydney-based 2Day FM's Mel Greig and Michael Christian have broken their silence on the ordeal and recorded two television interviews on the Nine and Seven Networks.

Christian said the pair were feeling completely "gutted, shattered, heartbroken".

Greig said she hadn't stopped thinking about the nurse since she received the news on her death early on Saturday morning.

"I remember my first question was 'was she a mother?'" she told the Seven Network's Today Tonight program.

"It was the worst phone call I've had in my life." Greig said the idea for the prank came up in a team meeting. Christian declined to reveal what legal training the pair had received from 2DayFM. "There are people that make those decisions for us," he said. They were shocked when the prank succeeded.

"We couldn't believe that it had worked... We thought a hundred people before us would've tried the same thing," Greig said. "We just wanted to be hung up on. We wanted to be hung up on with our silly voices and wanted a twenty second segment to air of us doing stupid voices."

Asked if they would make contact with the nurse's family, Greig said it was not a "appropriate time to do that yet."

"But this is where we want to say that we are thinking of you and if we could call you we would want to reach out to you."

2DayFM are providing intense counselling to the pair who have faced a worldwide backlash on social media with many blaming the prank call on the nurse's death.

"We're getting the support that we need and we've got those around us that are helping us," Christian said.

"If we played any involvement in her death then we're very sorry for that. And time will only tell," Greig said.

The pair declined to speculate on future career moves, following the suspension of their radio show.

"I don't want to think about that right now. There's bigger, more pressing issues and that's making sure that family gets through this tough time. You know, our careers aren't important at the moment," Greig said.

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What else could they possibly say? More radio PR...

LD Ash - from SA, 6 months ago

Humility wouldn't yammer that much. I think the best apology they can possibly make is to take a huge step stage-left permanently and leave us all alone.

commercial, not moral

phw - from canberra, 6 months ago

let us not be fooled by crocodile tears on commercial media trying to turn perpetrators into martyrs. commercial media make money; and any means to do so is acceptable to share holders. Nothing amuses a desensitised Australian audience more than playing denegrading jokes on others. Freedom of speach does not come into it; the endemic lack of common decency in Australian commercial media has not turned deadly. Any one at any time is fair game!

Minke Whales are Endangered only in Australia

Viper 0 - from Artarmon, Sydney, 6 months ago

Australian media looks like Korean media. Blaming others for your own problem and keep on lying over critical issues. Stark contrast between international response and horrible response from Australia was just appalling and stuggering. Get what you deserve,. You will be repeating this in near future in a different form. I bet you will be hiding and blaming others for consequences you brought up. And, no one is behind you.

Time to resign

Yousif - from Sydney, 6 months ago

As a comedian you realy have to reconsider your career after inflicting so much despair. Don't quit life & I hope no one ends up having to do time. However, the two DJ's & the management has to see it's failure in it's sole purpose of bringing joy to people & adopt a more suitable career(s).

Ethics?? Where?

Paul - from Edwardstown, 6 months ago

What surprises me is the process of pre-redording and vetting before public broadcast. Did not one person standup and say .. We are humiliating people here, they might also lose their jobs! So, the ethics of the DJ'S,s, the lawyers, the marketing team and the management is seriously in doubt. I would love to see this company's ethical statement.

Destroying someone's life a joke?

Jake - from Googong, 6 months ago

It is day light obvious that whoever fell for the "gag" would lose their job due to a serious breach of confidentiality and subsequently have their career permanently destroyed. No problems foreseeing that.. Why should the "pranksters" keep their jobs or have careers in the industry when being fired is so funny? A nurse that went to university for several years and decided on a life of helping people is discarded on a gag, whereas some uneducated idiots that contribute nothing get defended.

Unforeseeable

J - from Perth, 6 months ago

Hoax calls may be fun and generally harmless. But this hoax call was to a hospital worker and caused the nurse to break the law by breaking patient confidentiality. The consequences for the nurse are serious and can include litigation, discipline by the nursing regulation board and losing one's job. These consequences were foreseeable and that it might cause someone to end their life when coupled with public humiliation is not outside the realm of possibility.

Just a prank

Earle - from Melbourne, 6 months ago

The two DJ's are evil for what they said, and yet all the commentary condemning them is not? Aren't they doing the same. The bottom line is it was a prank, how someone acts upon it is personal and controlled by only them.

We are all victim of this bullying culture

Turker Dundar - from Brisbane, 6 months ago

They are not the only one. There are many other radio shows, all based on making fun of innocent people by giving them hoax calls and then broadcasting the resulting laughter upon it over and over again every hour after declaring their "Success" for it. Everybody talks about bullying culture in schools or in similar environments. But, hey no matter what age we are, that culture is all around us. There are some of us that make living from it at the expense innocent ones. Too late now...

I feel sorry for the 2 DJ's... This was completely unforseeable!

jason wander - from australia, 6 months ago

I feel very sorry for the 2 DJ's. I don't think they should take the blame for the Indian nurse killing herself. To make jokes about the British royalties is and has been an Australian hobby since decades. This was completely unforeseeable and this two DJ's don't deserve the blame they currently receive.

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