“Shattered, gutted, heartbroken…” Last night 2DayFM presenters Michael Christian and Mel Greig gave their first official interview following the suspected suicide of Jacintha Saldanha, a 46-year-old employee of King Edward VII Hospital, who patched through the now infamous prank call the pair made to Kate Middleton‘s personal nurse.
Christian and Greig, who have been suspended until further notice from broadcasting duties with 2DayFM parent company, Southern Cross Austereo, have been in hiding since the news of Saldanha’s death broke worldwide. In last night’s interview with A Current Affair anchor, Tracy Grimshaw, the clearly distraught pair expressed their guilt and feelings of personal responsibility about the tragedy.
During the interview (which Grimshaw preambled by announcing it was an unpaid and unedited segment) Christian said they are “shattered, gutted, heartbroken and obviously our deepest sympathies are with the family with the friends and all those affected… Obviously Mel and myself are incredibly sorry for this situation and what’s happened. And we hope that they’re doing okay and they’re getting the love and support that they need and deserve right now, but personally I’m gutted.”
Grieg, who cried continuously during the interview said, “It was meant to be a silly little prank that so many people have done before. This wasn’t meant to happen. I haven’t stopped thinking about it since it happened. I remember my first question was, ‘Was she a mother?’ I can’t imagine what [the Saldanha family] would be going through.”
Grieg and Christian have come under immense scrutiny by various media commentators and on social media channels, with responses ranging from sympathy for the presenters to anger to suggesting the DJs are directly responsible for Saldanha’s death. The fundamental truths in this terrible turn of events are that no one could have predicted the outcome of the prank call; no one will ever really know exactly what caused Saldanha to take her own life; and that the broadcasting careers of these two presenters are most likely over.
Watch the interview in full:
