Michael Christian is an Australian radio presenter. Along with his co-host

Mel Greig Mel Greig (born 19 September 1982) is an Australian radio and television personality. Career In 2011, she competed on the first season of '' The Amazing Race Australia'' with her sister Alana. In 2012, Greig began co-hosting the ''Hot30 Count ...

, he perpetrated a

prank call A prank call (also known as a crank call) is a telephone call intended by the caller as a practical joke played on the person answering. It is often a type of nuisance call. It can be illegal under certain circumstances. Recordings of prank ph ...

to the hospital caring for

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge Catherine, Princess of Wales, (born Catherine Elizabeth Middleton; 9 January 1982) is a member of the British royal family. She is married to William, Prince of Wales, heir apparent to the British throne, making Catherine the likely next ...

that contributed to the suicide of one of the nurses.

Career

In February 2006, Christian started his radio career at Sea FM Central Coast, after completing a Graduate Diploma in Commercial Radio Broadcasting at the Australian Film, Television & Radio School. He later moved on to become a morning announcer at 92.9 Perth. On 5 October 2009, Christian started a position as the afternoons announcer at Austereo's Fox FM in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

before moving to mornings. He moved to Sydney's

2Day FM 2Day FM (call sign 2DAY) is a commercial FM radio station broadcasting in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, on a frequency of 104.1 MHz, and is part of Southern Cross Austereo's Hit Network. History 1980s 2Day FM was one of three radio st ...

in December 2012 to host the ''

Hot30 Countdown The ''Hot30 Countdown'' was an Australian radio show hosted by Mike Christian (MC) and Mel Greig. It was broadcast on the Hit Network, Today Network from the studios of 2Day FM in Sydney, New South Wales to every States and territories of Aus ...

'' with

, a nationally syndicated program.

Royal prank

On 6 December 2012, Christian and his

radio co-host, Mel Greig, made a radio prank call to the hospital that was caring for Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, during her first pregnancy. The duo tricked the hospital into releasing private medical information on the Duchess by using "ridiculous comedy accents" to mimic Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

and the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

in an attempt to talk with the Duchess. Two days later Jacintha Saldanha, one of the nurses who was tricked by the pair, was found dead in a suspected suicide. Both Christian and Greig were seen on their Twitter accounts boasting about the prank a day earlier, calling it "the easiest prank call ever made." They were both suspended from broadcasting following the death. In an interview on the Nine Network's ''

A Current Affair ''A Current Affair'' may refer to: * ''A Current Affair'' (Australian TV program), 1971–present Australian current affairs program that airs on Nine Network * ''A Current Affair'' (American TV program), a 1986–1998 American television news ...

'' program, Christian said that "We are shattered, heartbroken and our deepest sympathy goes to the family, friends and all those people affected. Mel and myself are incredibly sorry for the situation and what's happened." On 27 January 2013, 2Day FM's parent company announced on its Facebook page that the Hot 30 show responsible for the prank would not be returning. Christian returned to the Melbourne Fox FM morning program on 11 February 2013, and his move there created controversy. On Sunday 28 April 2013 ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

'' newspaper in the United Kingdom reported Saldanha had authored a suicide note blaming Christian and Greig. She also asked that they be made responsible for her mortgage. In June 2013, Southern Cross Austereo awarded Christian the ''Next Top Jock'' award, a decision that was criticised in the Australian media. Australian National Communications Minister

Stephen Conroy Stephen Michael Conroy (born 18 January 1963) is an Australian former politician who was an Australian Labor Party member of the Senate from 1996 to 2016, representing the state of Victoria. He served as a minister in the Rudd and Gillard gov ...

told a Melbourne radio station "I think there’s a bit of bad taste involved there. There were some very serious consequences of what was a prank and to be seen to be rewarding people so soon after such an event, I think, is just in bad taste." In 2015, Christian returned to 2Day FM as a staff announcer.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Christian, Mike Australian radio personalities Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) Shock jocks