2Day Fm DJs Mel Greig and Michael Christian have been fired as a result of last year’s prank call that tragically went wrong. As reported by The Age, Greig and Christian were let go by Southern Cross Austereo, with the announcement being made public on Sunday, 27th January.
Southern Cross Austereo posted the termination of Greig and Christian on the pair’s Hot 30 Facebook page and directed followers to new replacement program The Bump, hosted by Angus O’Loughlin.
The Hot 30 was taken off the air after Greig and Christian made a prank call to King Edward VII’s Hospital in early December. The pair pretended to Prince Charles and the Queen in order to obtain details on Kate Middleton condition, who was being treated for acute morning sickness.
Nurse Jacinta Saldanha answered the prank call and transferred Greig and Christian to a colleague who divulged private medical information, unaware of the prank. Ms Saldanha, aged 46, took her own life later that week after the hoax was widely covered by the British media.
UPDATE: The Age has updated their original article with a retraction – “An earlier version of this story stated Christian and Greig had been dumped by Southern Cross Austereo. This was incorrect.”
The article now correctly states that Christian and Greig have not been dumped by Southern Cross Austereo, and that the network looks forward to the two “returning to work when the time is right, in roles that make full use of their talents.”
