The two Australian DJs involved in the prank call to Kate Middleton’s hospital have finally spoken in response to the news that one of the nurses who answered the call has committed suicide.

The prank call involved Aussie DJs Mel Greig and Michael Christian calling the London hospital and pretending to be the Queen of England, complete with corgis barking in the background. The pair maintain that they had not expected to be put through and that the joke was supposed to be on them, not on any of the hospital workers.

Both DJs told of their distress at hearing the news of nurse Jacintha Saldanha’s death. The phone call that delivered the news to Mel Greig was described as “the worst phone call I’ve ever had in my life,” by the DJ. She was asked if she had a message for Saldanha’s family and replied “[I] have wanted to reach out to them and just give them a big hug. I hope they're OK, I really do.” Christian also extended his sympathies to the family of the nurse, saying “our deepest sympathies go out to the family… We just hope that her family and friends are being as good as they can be and are giving [them] the love and support they need. We are shattered.”

Greig and Christian gave the interviews to Channel Nine and Channel Seven’s main evening current affairs programmes. According to The Guardian, a Tracey Grimshaw, who interviewed the DJs for Channel Nine confirmed that the interviews had not been paid for.