Radio show behind royal hoax cancelled
2013-01-28 22:06
Sydney - The Australian radio show behind a hoax phone
call to the London hospital where the pregnant Duchess of Cambridge was being
treated has been officially cancelled.
The show and the two DJs behind the prank in December
were widely condemned after the death of a nurse who answered the phone and
helped the DJs get confidential information about the former Kate Middleton's
health.
The "Hot 30" programme was taken off air
following the death of the nurse, Jacintha Saldanha, and the Australian AP
reported on Monday that Southern Cross Austereo, the parent company of radio
station 2DayFM, announced the programme had been formerly cancelled.
The AAP quoted Southern Cross Austereo Chief Executive
Rhys Holleran as saying DJs Michael Christian and Mel Greig will go back on the
air.
"We look forward to Mel and MC returning to work
when the time is right, in roles that make full use of their talents,"
Holleran said in a statement on Monday.
The DJs impersonated Queen Elizabeth II and her son,
Prince Charles, as they phoned London's King Edward VII hospital in the early
hours of 4 December to ask about the condition of the Duchess of Cambridge, who
had been hospitalised there after suffering from severe morning sickness.
The DJs' shaky upper-crust accents were apparently enough
to fool Saldanha, who put them through to a colleague who in turn described the
details of Kate's condition.
The call went viral and was broadcast the world over.
But the incident took a darker turn after Saldanha's body
was found hanging in her room three days after the prank.
It was an apparent suicide that many have assumed was
related to the stress from the call.
Greig and Christian apologised in emotional interviews on
Australian television, saying they never expected their call would be put
through.
- AP
