OPINION: When they found out it wasn't Tom Cruise on the line, More FM producer Samantha Baxter broke into guttural sobs, and host Simon Barnett sat in what seemed to be devastated near-silence. How did this prank get so out-of-control?

On Friday morning, More FM host, all-round nice guy and die-hard Tom Cruise fan Simon Barnett, was led to believe he was doing a live interview with his Hollywood idol. He wasn't.

A separate MediaWorks radio station, The Edge, had set up the hoax call, using a Tom Cruise impersonator.

ROBERT TRATHERN/SUPPLIED

Radio host Simon Barnett took the prank call pretty well but why did MediaWorks allow the hoax to cross the line?

But this wasn't like other radio station prank calls. Barnett is a huge Cruise fan so he was excited and spent a lot of time preparing for the interview. And the call continued for about 15 minutes.

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After the lengthy on-air interview, The Edge "shock jocks" Dom Harvey, Jay-Jay Harvey and Clinton Randell revealed they were the ones behind the call.

What followed was hard to witness. 

Barnett started off in a jovial manner but things quickly took an upsetting and awkward turn.

Producer Samantha Baxter started sobbing, then told The Edge hosts to "get a life".

BEVAN READ/FAIRFAX NZ

Radio hosts Jay-Jay and Dominic Harvey pulled a mean prank on More FM host Simon Barnett.

Barnett told the DJs the prank was "super uncool".

On Thursday, when More FM promoted the interview Barnett said he was "90 per cent sure" he would be interviewing Tom Cruise.

"It sounds like this is legit," he said.

Barnett didn't say he would definitely be interviewing Cruise but the on-air reaction from the More FM team makes it seem unlikely any of them knew the call was a hoax.

And a MediaWorks spokesperson has repeatedly insisted the hosts had no idea.

"At the time my overriding emotion was one of genuine embarrassment, I've always wanted to meet this guy. I can now see it was a joke and in the grand scheme of things maybe Tom will feel sorry for me and sit down for that glass of wine," Barnett said in a statement.

Later on Friday The Edge's Dom Harvey seemingly realised the prank had gone too far and put his tail between his legs for once.

"We apologise to Si, Gary and the team for any disappointment they may have suffered at our expense," Harvey said in a statement.

"The prank was a bit of fun between sister stations and we wish them the best of luck in finding the real Tom Cruise."

So if More FM wasn't in on the prank, it begs the questions: how was The Edge able to pull the wool over More FM's eyes?

A big part of More FM's shows include interviewing big-time celebrities like Tom Cruise.

How did they not spot inconsistencies or warning signs during the arranging of this interview? Was it a case of someone dropping the ball or did The Edge go to extremes to make the interview appear legitimate?

The company refused to answer questions about the usual process of setting up an interview and whether the process differed in this case.

When introducing the segment, The Edge's Randell said arranging the hoax "took about a week behind the scenes of different things going back and forth" but did not elaborate further.

MediaWorks also refused to say who at MediaWorks signed off on the call and why it continued for so long.

A raft of social media commenters have referred to the prank as "bullying", "disgusting" and "disappointing" behaviour.

While the More FM team said it had come to see the funny side after having the chance to cool down off-air, a prank like this - that reduced an employee to tears - probably wouldn't be tolerated in most New Zealand workplaces.

MediaWorks refused to say whether any internal discussions had taken place as a result of the prank.

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 - Stuff