DJ who prank called Kate Middleton’s hospital sues radio station years after tragic suicide

Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide which some readers may find distressing.

The Australian radio host who made a prank call to the hospital where Kate Middleton was being treated during her first pregnancy has sued his former employer after it led to a tragic suicide.

Michael Christian and his co-host, Mel Greig, were both caught up in a terrible controversy while they were working at 2Day FM radio.

The pair faced years of backlash following a call where the two DJs pretended to be the late Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles to gain access to information about the Princess of Wales as she was being treated for morning sickness at King Edward VII’s Hospital in London in December 2012.

At the time, the duo’s impressions were able to convince a nurse called Jacintha Saldanha that they were the Royals who wanted to check up on the Princess of Wales as she battled her sickness whilst carrying Prince George.

Michael Christian and his co-host Mel Greig were caught up in a tragic scandal (Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)

Saldanha, a 46-year-old mother-of-two, answered the call and transferred to another colleague on the ward where Kate was staying, who then disclosed private medical information.

Sadly, after realising she had been fooled, the nurse took her own life.

According to The Times, in one of three notes written before taking her own life, Saldanha expressed how angry she was with the Australian radio presenters and blamed them for her suicide.

Now, over 12 years after the call, Christian has filed a lawsuit against his old employer, Southern Cross Austereo (SCA), after losing his job in February this year.

He claims he was ordered to make the call by the production team and had only been days into his on-air role.

The Telegraph reports Christian said the call breached the Australian Communications and Media Authority code of practice and should never have been able to come to fruition, as per the lawsuit.

He went on to say that after Salganha’s suicide, the broadcasting company promised to support its on-air staff if their jobs led to controversy, but he didn’t receive any.

A nurse called Jacintha Saldanha took her own life after disclosing private information (Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

Christian allegedly claimed his former employer, SCA, made him and Greig ‘convenient fall guys and scapegoats’ of the scandal and slowly marginalised him when he chose to stay with the company.

After news broke of Saldanha’s suicide, Christian and Greig began to receive death threats, and he has spoken out about why the 5 December call was ever aired, even though it allegedly had been cleared by the radio station’s lawyers.

Christian’s lawyers wrote, as per local outlets: “SCA did not immediately take public accountability for the incident, but rather allowed [Christian and Greig] to be left exposed to relentless public vitriol, harassment and abuse, including death threats. The radio presenters were left by SCA as the convenient fall guys and scapegoats for SCA management decisions and non-compliance.”

He claims he was told in 2013 that the broadcaster would work to restore his reputation and rebuild his career, but he claims SCA failed to provide the support and did not start a public relations campaign to rebuild his brand.

As of right now, Christian is seeking penalties, and compensation for his potential earnings loss and damages now that he has left his post.

“Mr Christian claims that the redundancy was not genuine, particularly in circumstances where SCA still requires Mr Christian’s former role to be performed,” court documents allege.

The pair called the hospital to enquire about the Princess of Wales (Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)

“When we thought about making a call, it was going to go for 30 seconds, we were going to be hung up on and that was it. As innocent as that,” Christian told A Current Affair days after the prank call.

Greig added: “The accents were terrible. You know it was designed to be stupid. We obviously wanted it to be a joke.”

Greig shared two years later in 2014 that her mother had received death threats, and she also battled with depression following the controversy.

“I am ashamed of myself. I should have tried harder to not let that prank call air,” she said.

SCA’s chief executive at the time, Rhys Holleran, said he continued to suffer from anxiety about the incident, and told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in 2024: “I have always felt completely and utterly responsible for this.”

As for Greig's thoughts on her former colleague suing the station, she issued a statement via Instagram Stories on Tuesday 19 August: "I understand why Michael is choosing to go down this path."

She continued: "Whilst there are various reasons we may never be able to speak our entire truth on all that occurred, I do hope that the continued attention on this tragic incident results in substantial reforms in the way media produce content and support their staff, so that something like this never happens again.

"My thoughts and support, as always, are with the Saldanha family."

Tyla reached out to Southern Cross Austereo for comment.

If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, please don’t suffer alone. Call Samaritans for free on their anonymous 24-hour phone line on 116 123.