UPDATE: TWO radio presenters say they are sorry if they unwittingly had any part in the suicide of a nurse duped by their royal prank.
"If we played any involvement in her death, then we're very sorry for that. And time will only tell," said tearful 2Day FM presenter Mel Greig.
"We're incredibly sorry for the harm that we may have helped contribute (to)," said Michael Christian, adding he felt "gutted, shattered and heartbroken".
The pair told the Seven Network's Today Tonight program there was no malice in their prank last week, when they posed as the Queen and Prince Charles in a telephone call to London's King Edward VII Hospital and obtained private information about the condition of the pregnant Duchess of Cambridge.
Nurse Jacintha Saldanha, a 46-year-old mother of two, is believed to have taken her own life on Friday, three days after transferring the call to another nurse who divulged news about the duchess.
The station's owner, Southern Cross Austereo, reacted to growing alarm over the story by pulling the two hosts off air until further notice, axing their show, suspending all advertising on 2Day FM until further notice and forbidding any prank calls across its network
The company, which faced a diving share price and threats of a cyber attack yesterday, expressed its "deep and sincere condolences" to the nurse's family.
"We are very sorry for A Current Affair what has happened," said CEO Rhys Holleran.
"We are also providing support to our people who are deeply saddened by this tragic and unforeseen event."
Greig said she was prepared to attend any inquest in London and see the nurse's family face to face.
"If that's something that they want to do, to get some closure, then I'll do that," she 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 they (the family) would be going through."
Appearing on the Nine Ntwork's A Current Affair last night, Grieg also said, "Not a minute goes by that we don't think about the family and what they are going through, and the thought we may have a played a part is gut wrenching."
Christian said: "It was something that was just fun and lighthearted and a tragic turn of events no one could have predicted or expected."
Southern Cross shares tumbled 6 per cent to a near five-week low, and market watchers estimated the decision to suspend advertising could cost Southern Cross at least $500,000.
Online activist group Anonymous earlier posted a YouTube video warning the company: "You have placed your advertisers at risk - their databases, their websites, their online advertising.
"We will not listen to any more excuses. We will not let you escape your responsibility," said a digitally altered voice.
"This is no laughing matter. This is your one and only chance to make amends. You have one week to do so."
Mr Holleran denied the station had a cultural problem, despite on-air incidents involving 2Day host Kyle Sandilands in recent years.
"That style of call, it happens every day in radio around the world," he said. "No one could have reasonably foreseen what has happened."
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said the prank went "horribly wrong", but it was important to "let the dust settle before we rush into demands for more media regulation".
NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell said controversy surrounding the prank should not be used to attack press freedom.
"We should have a free media, but of course with that free media comes responsibility," he said.
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy said the media regulator ACMA was considering whether to hold its own inquiry, beyond the usual process of giving broadcasters the opportunity to respond to complainants.
Mr Holleran said he did not believe any ACMA codes governing radio broadcasts had been breached or that the station's licence was in jeopardy.
But media lawyer Justine Munsie of Addisons law firm said the station may have committed a criminal offence by recording the nurse without her consent and broadcasting the prank.
READ MORE: Hoax radio station facing inquiry
